Team Natsu and the One Ring
by Mew Sakura the Cyniclon
Summary: Natsu finds a weird job request on the request board one day that he thinks will help with Lucy's rent, until it turns into a portal that sends Team Natsu into Middle Earth where they end up being thrown into the quest to destroy the One Ring.
1. Chapter 1 Landing In Middle Earth

**Team Natsu and the One Ring**

**While looking at the request board for another job, Natsu finds a job request that sends him and the rest of his team to a place called Middle Earth where they end up having to join the Fellowship of the Ring in their quest to destroy the One Ring. Takes place after the Edolas arc for Fairy Tail.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, or LOTR. All characters belong to their rightful owners respectively.**

* * *

**Chapter 1 Landing In Middle Earth**

"Hey Lucy, check out this really weird job request Happy and I found," Natsu said one day, as he showed his blond teammate the request.

"What kind of job is it?" Lucy asked. "It looks like it's in a different language or something. I can't read what it says."

"That's exactly what we've been trying to figure out," Natsu told her.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"I bet Gramps would know what kind of job this is," Gray said, walking over to join them.

"I see you kids have noticed that request," Makarov said, walking towards them.

"Yeah, but we can't read it for some reason," Natsu told him. "It's like it's in a different language or something."

"That request was just mysteriously sent here from a different dimension," Makarov tried to explain.

"So it came from Edolas?" a confused Natsu asked.

"And who was it who put in the request anyway?" Lucy added.

"No, it's not from Edolas," Makarov replied. "And as for who put in the request... well that's a mystery as well, even to me."

"Maybe someone could have put it up as a prank," Gray suggested.

"Are you suggesting I was the one who did it?!" Natsu snapped at him.

"Well, that could also be a possibility," Makarov replied before the two boys could get into a fight with each other. "Er, not meaning it was Natsu, I mean. But if you like, you're welcome to take it if you're interested in finding out what it is. I'm not all that sure what it is myself."

"Yeah, alright! I'm all fired up!" Natsu exclaimed. "Let's do this Happy!"

"Aye sir!" Happy replied.

"Yes! I'll get to pay my rent again for this month!" Lucy exclaimed happily.

"Um, I want to come too," Wendy said.

"Goodness no, child!" Carla told her. "We don't even know anything about this request, or the person who put in the request for that matter. For all we know it might just very well be a prank, as Gray pointed out."

"But Carla..." Wendy protested.

Before Carla had a chance to reply, the job request paper suddenly began to glow a rainbow color (like what happened with the changeling spell) and Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gray, Wendy, and Carla suddenly felt themselves disappearing from the guild.

"W-What's happening?" a seriously freaked out Lucy asked.

"Ugh... I don't feel so good..." Natsu groaned, as the motion from the portal started to affect him.

"Get a hold of yourself, man," Gray told him. "This was your idea in the first place."

"Now is not the time to be bickering with each other, you two," Carla told them. "We have to find out where this thing is taking us."  
"I'm scared, Carla," Wendy said. "What if a dark guild is behind this? Or we're being pulled back into Edolas again?"

"Stop talking nonsense, child," Carla told her. "This is no dark guild that I know of that we have to worry about. And being pulled back into Edolas again is just impossible now with them having no more magic there anymore. So stop worrying."

"Don't worry, Carla, I'll protect you from any danger we have to face in wherever it is we end up!" Happy declared.

Carla only turned her nose up at him in reply.

"I just wanna get off this thing already..." Natsu groaned again.

"I have to agree with Natsu on that," Lucy said. "We've been on this portal for a while now, and I'm already bored of being here."

"Aye..." Happy agreed.

"Well at least we're all dying of boredom instead of motion sickness," Gray said jokingly to tease Natsu.

"Hey, I... heard... that..." Natsu managed to say.

Just as Wendy was about to use her Troia spell on him, the glowing from the portal stopped and the six Fairy Tail wizards found themselves landing in a strange place in the middle of what appeared to be a dirt road.

"Where are we?" Wendy wondered.

"Well we're definitely not in the guild anymore," Lucy replied. "Or anywhere in Fiore for that matter."

"Aye," Happy agreed.

"Somebody get me off this thing..." Natsu groaned.

"Hey, has anyone else noticed that Erza is missing?" Gray pointed out after noticing that the requip wizard wasn't with them, ignoring the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Yeah now that you mention it, I didn't see her get caught in the portal with us," Lucy added.

"But I thought Erza always comes with us on jobs," Wendy said.

"Perhaps she just wasn't nearby when the job request activated into a portal," Carla suggested.

"Yeah maybe," Lucy replied.

"Guys, I just wanna get off this thing now..."Natsu groaned.

"Natsu, we already landed, so we're not moving anymore," Happy told him, as Gray went over and punched the fire breather in the face to snap him out of it.

"What was that for?!" Natsu demanded, once he was fully recovered from being motion sick.

"To get you to snap out of it, you pyro!" Gray retorted.

"Oh yeah, snap outta this!" Natsu snapped back, as he and Gray got into a fistfight that ended up turning into an all-out brawl, as usual.

"All of you be quiet!" Carla shouted at them, as the two boys stopped fighting to look over at her.

"What is it, Carla?" Wendy asked the white Exceed, who appeared to be trying to concentrate on something.

"There's somebody coming this way," Carla replied.

"Yeah, a fight! It's probably another dark guild up to no good!" Natsu exclaimed eagerly. "I'm fired up now!"

Lucy let out an annoyed sigh. "Why do you always have to solve things by looking for a fight? Not that it really matters anymore."

"Because that's Natsu for ya," Happy replied.

"That was actually rhetorical, but whatever," Lucy said.

Meanwhile  
Gandalf had been on his way to the Shire, when something suddenly caught his attention. An odd group of people appeared to be standing in the middle of the road, looking a bit confused as to how they ended up there. From what he could see they appeared to be two girls, one was blond and the other had dark blue hair which made Gandalf assume that they were not from Middle Earth; the blond girl was older about 17 and the other with the blue hair was younger about 12 years old, along with two boys about the same age as the blond girl. One of the boys had spikey pink hair, another unusual hair color for Middle Earth, and he wore a white dragon scale patterned scarf around his neck (Gandalf thought that odd considering it wasn't even winter). Gandalf also caught the glimmer of a feral look in the boy's eyes, presumably similar to that of a dragon. Which could mean the boy was either raised by a dragon, or he himself was actually a dragon, the old wizard had yet to discover. His gaze then shifted to the other boy in the group. He had black hair and seemed to be the exact opposite of the pink haired boy, like fire and ice, and not to mention he appeared to have a really bad stripping habit seeing as he was shirtless. And floating in the air beside the four teens were two little creatures; one blue and the other white. Gandalf couldn't quite tell what they were exactly, other than the fact that they looked like a couple of floating cats. As he drew closer, he could distinctly make out a conversation they were having with each other.

"Aw man, some job request this is with no bad guys to beat up," one of the boys complained, the one with the pink hair and the scarf.

"You were the one who said this job would help with Lucy's rent, flame-brain," the other boy retorted. "You don't hear the rest of us complaining about it!"

"What was that, you stripping popsicle?!" the pink haired boy shouted.

The two boys apparently didn't get along with each other as Gandalf watched them get into a fist fight with each other.

"It's too bad Erza's not here to break up their fighting," the blond girl said. "We should be trying to find out how to get back to the guild."

"Aye," the blue cat agreed. "Hey Carla, do you wanna share a fish with me?" he asked the white cat.

"Definitely not!" the white cat, known as Carla, told him. "And now is hardly the time for fish, anyway."

"Oh sure, ignore me," the blond girl muttered.

"Um, guys, I suddenly get the feeling we're not alone anymore," the little blue haired girl said. Apparently, while her friends were busy talking, she had been the first to spot the wagon moving closer to them, which meant that Gandalf decided to make his presence known as he suddenly pulled the cart to a stop right in front of them. The two boys stopped fighting when they soon noticed the strange-looking old man sitting in the cart.

"Hey, has anyone else noticed someone's watchin' us?" Natsu pointed out.

"Actually I believe Wendy was the first to notice," Carla told him.

"Maybe he can tell us where we are," Lucy suggested.

"You are in Middle Earth to be precise," Gandalf replied. "And I am called Gandalf the Grey. Sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation just now, and if I may be of assistance I might be able to help you."

"Well we're wizards from the Fairy Tail guild," Gray explained. "We sort of ended up here by this weird job request that Natsu found which opened up into some sort of Anima."

"Yes, and now we're possibly stuck here with no way to get back," Carla added.

"Aye," Happy agreed with her.

"Well you are all welcome to come along with me if you would like," Gandalf told them. "I am actually on my way to the Shire, so I would be glad for the company. And I will also try to figure out a way to help you get back to your... guild, was it? In the meantime, I have a feeling that you have all been brought here to Middle Earth for a reason." He then noticed Natsu wasn't looking so good. "Is he going to be alright?" he then asked.

"I think I'll just walk," Natsu said. "That thing's a vehicle."

"Natsu just gets motion sickness with transportation, unless Wendy uses her Troia spell on him," Happy said.

"I see," Gandalf replied.

"Crap, I can't believe I almost forgot about that!" Natsu exclaimed. "Wendy, could I use your Troia spell?"

"Ok," Wendy replied, as she went over to put her Troia spell on the Fire Dragon Slayer before they all got into the back of the cart.

"Mind the fireworks though," Gandalf told them.

"Well if they do end up getting messed up, the one responsible would probably be Natsu," Gray said.

"Oh yeah! And just what do you mean by that, Gray?!" Natsu demanded. "It's not like I go around destroying everything I touch!"

Lucy sweat-dropped. "That's exactly the kind of problem that causes us to fail on jobs, Natsu."

"And don't forget that Gray and Erza are involved in destroying things too," Happy reminded her.

"Right, how could I forget," Lucy muttered.

Gandalf chuckled lightly at his new strange companions as he continued on down the road towards the Shire.

* * *

**I think I'll end it there for this chapter. The next chapter will be when they meet Frodo and the other hobbits in the Shire. I hope this is enjoyable. R&amp;R And yes, I am starting it near the beginning of the first LOTR movie, so I hope ya like what I have so far. And I know I didn't have Erza with them, but she may come in later on. ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2 Hobbits, Wizards, & Fairy Tail

**YAHOO! Finally finished with the next chapter! *throws confetti and dances around happily* I thank you all for being so patient with me (well, some not so much), so please enjoy the second chapter of Team Natsu and the One Ring. And now, without further ado:**

**I don't own Fairy Tail or LOTR. All characters belong to their rightful owners. I just own my ideas for the plot that keeps this story going. This chapter also went a little longer than I originally intended, but that's just because I ended up getting carried away. But I hope it's still good anyway. ^_^ And I also want to apologize for the wait. I had originally planned to have this posted by the end of July, but my laptop started being a brat and wouldn't let me logon. But thankfully it's up and running again. So I'm really sorry for making all of you wait this long. Gomen Nasai!**

* * *

**Chapter 2 Concerning Hobbits, Wizards, and Fairy Tail**

"So what is this place we're going to exactly?" Lucy decided to ask, voicing the question that was on her friends' minds as well, after a while of becoming aquatinted with the old wizard.

"It is called the Shire, and the people who live there are called hobbits," Gandalf explained. "We'll be arriving there very soon."

"Well as long as I have Wendy's Troia spell, I can actually enjoy the ride without the feeling of motion sickness," Natsu said. "By the way, what's a hobbit?"

"Well obviously somebody wasn't paying attention," Happy said.

Gandalf began to explain to them what hobbits are, while the Fairy Tail wizards listened with interest. "Hobbits are little people, smaller than dwarves, and they inhabit a land they call the Shire." The Fairy Tail wizards continued to listen as Gandalf described to them what hobbits were like, along with a description of the Shire as well.

"I didn't really get most of that, but it sounds awesome!" Natsu said, once Gandalf was finished.

"You never really get anything that's explained to you, you pyro," Gray told him.

"What was that, stripping popsicle?!" Natsu shouted back, as he and Gray were now butting heads and glaring at each other.

"Seriously? Would you guys knock it off already?" Lucy told them. "I'd really rather not go out with a bang if you accidently set these fireworks off back here."

"Wow Lucy, that was just so... un-Erza-like when you said that," Happy said.

"I wasn't trying to sound like Erza, stupid cat!" Lucy snapped at him.

"So, what do these hobbits look like?" Wendy asked, going back to the hobbit topic.

"Hey, I think I see something moving through those trees over there," Happy pointed out.

"Is it one of those hobos?" Natsu asked, looking in the direction the blue Exceed was facing.

"Hobbits, Natsu," Lucy corrected him.

"Geez you pyro, how did you even get 'hobo' out of 'hobbit'?" Gray pointed out.

"I don't know, that's just what it sounded like," Natsu said.

Meanwhile  
The hobbit in question that Happy pointed out appeared and was soon standing on a ledge above them. "You're late!" he said, as Gandalf pulled the cart to a stop.

The old wizard turned to look up at him. "A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins," he told the hobbit. "And nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

The Fairy Tail wizards just watched in confused silence as both the hobbit and the old wizard looked as if they were having a stare-down with each other before they both eventually broke out into laughter.

The hobbit, now known as Frodo, then jumped from the ledge into the cart to hug the old wizard. "It's wonderful to see you, Gandalf!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Gandalf chuckled, returning the embrace. "You didn't think I'd miss your Uncle Bilbo's birthday, did you?" he replied.

The two of them then began to chat with each other, which left the Fairy Tail wizards to themselves as they were still taking in the fact that they were now in a different dimension. They still hadn't expected that job request to suddenly turn into an Anima though, but then again it wasn't all that different from the Anima that sucked all of Fairy Tail and the whole town of Magnolia into Edolas despite the fact that the Anima from the job request was smaller than the Edolas Anima. But it still wasn't all that odd considering it was Fairy Tail, and even Makarov had said that he wasn't all too sure who would send a request like that to their guild either.

"Hey, so what'd the old man say this place was called again?" Natsu asked.

"Were you still not paying attention, dragon breath?" Gray retorted.

"Don't even start," Lucy said, before Natsu could retort. "And did you mean when he said Middle Earth or this Shire place, Natsu?" she added to the fire wizard.

"Those are both the same place, right?" Natsu asked, still confused.

Lucy sweat-dropped as she slapped a hand to her forehead. "Really Natsu?!" she exclaimed with an annoyed sigh.

"Aye, I guess he really wasn't paying attention," Happy agreed.

"Well, I can't argue there," Carla replied.

"Yea- Hey!" Natsu exclaimed, once he realized they were talking about him. But before he could retort, he suddenly happened to overhear Gandalf say something about an incident with a dragon and couldn't help but interrupt the conversation between the hobbit and the old wizard. "What's that about a dragon? Was it Igneel?" the Fire Dragon Slayer asked eagerly.

"Or Grandina?" Wendy added, after hearing Natsu ask about Igneel.

That was when Frodo happened to notice them. "Actually if you want to hear about that, you would have to ask Uncle Bilbo about it," the hobbit said with a laugh at the pink haired boy's interest in dragons.

"But it was Igneel, right?" Natsu asked.

"Would you shut up about it already, you pyro?" Gray told him.

"What was that, ice-stripper?!" Natsu shouted back.

"You heard me, ash-for-brains?!" Gray retorted.

"Here we go again," Lucy muttered with an annoyed sigh. "I'm just not gonna say anything this time."

"Aye, Natsu and Gray don't get along most of the time," Happy explained just as Frodo was about to question about it. "It's mainly because Natsu's fire and Gray is ice."

"I guess that would explain why they're fighting then," Frodo said, although he was unsure what the blue Exceed meant by them being fire and ice. "By the way, I never got to ask for your names. I'm Frodo Baggins."

"It's really nice to meet you, Frodo," Lucy replied. "We're wizards from the Fairy Tail wizard guild. My name's Lucy Heartfilia. The two idiots here are Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster." Natsu and Gray pause their fighting after hearing their names mentioned, as they both look over at the celestial wizard.

"Hey! Who're you calling an idiot, Lucy?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Yeah, don't go comparing me to this loser!" Gray added.

"What was that, popsicle-brain?!" Natsu demanded, butting heads with the ice wizard and glaring at him.

"You heard me, pyro!" Gray retorted

"Um, I'm Wendy Marvell," Wendy said somewhat shyly, while ignoring the two boys.

"My name's Happy," Happy said as he was eating another fish. "I'm Natsu's best friend and partner. And I also like fish."

"And I'm Carla," Carla added, rolling her eyes at the blue Exceed. "I'm also Wendy's partner and friend. And also, Happy and I are both known as Exceeds originally from Extalia in Edolas although we ended up being born in Earth Land though," she added incase Frodo also happened to ask if all cats were able to talk where they were from. "And no, just regular cats are unable to talk like we Exceeds can where we come from."

Frodo, however, wasn't sure he understood what she meant by her and Happy being called Exceeds, or anything about the places they referred to as Extalia, Edolas, and Earth Land although he listened with interest as the white Exceed explained it all to him. But there was also one other thing he caught onto that Lucy had mentioned as she had introduced herself. "So you said you guys were wizards?" he questioned curiously. "What kind of magic do you guys use?"

"Well, I'm a celestial wizard," Lucy replied. "And I can give you a demonstration of celestial spirit magic if you want," she said as she got out one of her silver gate keys and called out "Open! Gate of Canis Minor: Nikola!"

"Puun," Plue said as he appeared before her.

"Hey there Plue," Natsu said.

"Hey Natsu, watch where you're setting those flames!" Gray exclaimed, as Natsu had accidently set a flaming hand down onto a couple of the fireworks in the cart and causing them to go off which attracted the attention of most of the hobbits nearby.

Gandalf would have been about to scold the pyro for letting himself get careless like that, but decided to let it slide for now as some of the hobbit children had come running up to see the fireworks go off.

"Way to go, pyro," Gray said sarcastically, while the hobbit children were now cheering excitedly at the sight of the fireworks.

"Crap! Sorry about that!" Natsu called out to the hobbits that were nearby, who only gave him confused looks in return as they had no idea who he was.

"Aye, that's Natsu for ya," Happy said. "Always the first to destroy something."

"Say what?! I didn't destroy anything! That was an accident!" Natsu replied.

"Sure Natsu," Happy replied sarcastically.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Natsu exclaimed. "I just said it was an accident!"

"Don't worry about it," Frodo laughed. "With all the fireworks Gandalf's bringing, there's still plenty to launch during the party."

"Unless Natsu ends up setting them all off with his flames again," Lucy said. Frodo chuckled at the blond girl's comment.

"I wouldn't go jinxing him if I were you, Lucy," Happy told her. "Otherwise that just might happen."

"Well you had better hope that it won't happen, Natsu Dragneel," Gandalf said, mostly directing it towards the pink haired fire breather.

"Great, you're all still holding that against me are you?" Natsu muttered. "Geez, it's not like I set those ones off on purpose."

"Gee Natsu, since when are you the type to sulk about that sort of thing?" Lucy said.

"I'm not sulking..." Natsu mumbled.

"You could've fooled me," Lucy muttered.

"So what kind of magic do the rest of you use?" Frodo decided to ask, with Plue now sitting in his lap. Team Natsu had made room for him to join them in the back, as he was now sitting in between Lucy and Gray.

"Well mine's sort of similar to Natsu, except I use sky and healing magic," Wendy said. "We're both Dragon Slayers though, but Natsu learned his magic from the Fire Dragon Igneel and I learned mine from the Sky Dragon Grandina."

"And I'm an ice wizard," Gray added, demonstrating by creating the Fairy Tail symbol out of ice.

"I guess that explains the interest in dragons then," Frodo replied. "And the fire and ice thing the blue cat mentioned earlier."  
"Aye! And as for the dragons, they all suddenly disappeared one day which is why Natsu's always looking for Igneel," Happy said. "Same with Wendy looking for Grandina. And there's also the Iron Dragon Metallicana, who was Gajeel's dragon."

"Yeah, but Gajeel ain't here though," Natsu told the blue Exceed.

"Yeah I know, but I just thought I'd mention it anyway," Happy replied.

* * *

Meanwhile  
Back at the Fairy Tail guild, Gajeel happened to sneeze. "Man, either I'm gettin' a cold or someone's gossipin' about me somewhere," he said. "Oh well, not that it really matters anyway."

* * *

Back with Natsu and the others again  
They continued to chat with Frodo for a while as the hobbit was getting to know about the Fairy Tail wizards, while the Fairy Tail group was getting to know more about hobbits and the Shire.

The Fairy Tail wizards even explained about their guild 'Fairy Tail', and the different jobs that they take on there, along with Natsu and Happy teasing Lucy about her rent until the celestial wizard gave them both a 'Lucy Kick' to the face (which was pretty hard to do while sitting in the back of a cart full of fireworks).

They continued talking for a while until Frodo decided to leave as he stood up in the cart.

"Well it was nice to meet all of you," the hobbit told the Fairy Tail group, before turning to Gandalf. "And Gandalf, I'm glad you're back,' he added to the old wizard.

"So am I, dear boy," Gandalf replied, as Frodo jumped off the cart while waving at them after handing Plue back to Lucy. "So am I."

The Fairy Tail wizards and Gandalf rode for a while in silence after that, while the Fairy Tail wizards decided to admire the scenery of the Shire, until Happy decided to start up another conversation.

"Hey, I just thought of something," Happy suddenly said. "Wouldn't it be funny if Wendy's Troia spell wore off, and Natsu started puking up flames that sets off all the fireworks back here?" he suggested with his catlike grin.

"Ok, that just sounds wrong," Lucy told him.

"How can you even suggest something like that, tomcat?" Carla added.

"But isn't that pretty much the same thing as just breathing fire?" Wendy pointed out.

"It still sounds wrong though!" Lucy exclaimed.

"And not to mention, we'd all be going up in flames if that were to happen," Gray added.

"Which had better not happen," Gandalf reminded them. The old wizard had apparently still been tuned in to their conversation. "So I suggest you not put that idea into your friend's head."

"Say what? Why the heck would I want to set off more fireworks when that last one was an accident?!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed with his fists on fire that accidently set off a couple more fireworks in the process.

"Remind me again who it was who said not to jinx him, Happy?" Carla told the blue Exceed.

"KYAA!" Lucy suddenly shrieked in surprise, as they ended up being near her this time. "NATSU!" she screamed, giving the pyromaniac one of her 'all-too-famous' Lucy Kicks at the same time as Gandalf whacked on the head with his staff.

Gray snickered at the pink haired pyro. "Looks like you had that coming, Flamebrain. From both Lucy and the old man, that is," he teased, earning himself a whack on the head from Gandalf's staff as well. "Geez, what the heck, old man?!" he exclaimed while rubbing the back of his head.

"I believe I have heard enough of the two of you fighting right now," Gandalf told him, directing it at Natsu as well. "You might get away with this kind of destruction where you are from, but the Shire is no place for such chaos to be taking place. Now, I do not want to see another flame from you, once we reach Bag End. Is that clear?"

"Aye sir," Natsu replied.

They soon arrived at what the Fairy Tail group assumed was this 'Bag End' place. The Fairy Tail group climbed out of the cart as soon as it came to a stop and followed Gandalf up to the hobbit hole. They noticed a sign on the gate that read: No Admittance, Except On Party Business, which made the Fairy Tail wizards wonder what kind of hobbit lived here.

Lucy was more amused by the sign than her friends were, as it gave her an idea of how to keep a certain pyro and his cat from breaking into her apartment. "I wonder what would happen if I put something similar in front of my apartment to keep Natsu and Happy from breaking in," she wondered out loud. "It could say: Please keep Natsu and Happy away from here." She grinned at her own clever scheme.

"Hey! That's mean, Lucy!" Happy told her.

"Do you really think that will keep them out of your apartment, Lucy?" Wendy asked.

"Knowing Natsu, he and Happy would probably just ignore it and go in anyway," Gray pointed out.

"And that also didn't really make any sense either," Natsu added.

"Aww, and I thought it was a good idea too," Lucy whined.

Meanwhile  
Gandalf had gone up to knock on the door which was answered by a shout of "No thank you! We don't want any more visitors, well-wishers, or distant relations!"

"And what about very old friends?" Gandalf answered back, just as the door suddenly opened and an older looking hobbit stepped out.

The Fairy Tail group just watched the reunion (or whatever you wanna call it) between the old wizard and hobbit, until Bilbo happened to notice the strange group standing somewhat awkwardly behind the old wizard after a while. "Gandalf, you brought guests with you?" he asked Gandalf, as the old wizard looked behind him at the Fairy Tail group.

"Ah yes, just a group of young wizard children I happened to run into on the way here," Gandalf replied. "And quite the rowdy bunch too, I might add."

Lucy sweat-dropped. "That actually happened to be just Natsu and Gray fighting. And also Natsu accidently setting off fireworks," she said. "By the way, my name's Lucy," she added, introducing herself to the old hobbit.

The others all introduced themselves as well: Natsu, Gray, Happy, Wendy, and Carla.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet all of you," Bilbo told them, welcoming them all inside.

Once they were all inside, Bilbo had then offered to make them tea or possibly something a bit stronger to which Gandalf had replied that just tea was fine. And Carla had obviously objected to Wendy drinking anything, saying that she was too young for any of that, although the young Sky Maiden was too busy looking around and admiring the place with the others, so she was hardly paying attention to the white Exceed.

Natsu and Happy (after the blue Exceed had asked for some fish) were now snickering at Gandalf, who had accidently bumped into the chandelier above him and then ended up bumping into the doorway as he was turning around.

"Ha ha! Now that's what I call funny!" Natsu snickered.

"Aye!" Happy agreed. "Maybe hobbits should make their houses bigger."

"Yeah, you said it, little buddy!" Natsu replied with a grin, as he too ended up bumping into a nearby wall.

"Says the pyro who also ran into something," Gray said, as he couldn't help snickering at the pyro wizard. "At least Wendy, Carla, and Happy don't have to worry about that problem though."

"Aye, that's true," Happy agreed, as he ended up flying straight into a wall.

"Tell me you didn't just do that on purpose, tomcat," Carla told him.

"Aye, I wasn't looking where I was going," Happy moaned, rubbing his now sore nose as Carla just rolled her eyes at him.

Meanwhile  
Lucy had taken an interest in the book Bilbo had been writing as she began flipping through it.

"Wow, so this guy is writing a novel too just like I am," she mused to herself, as she came across the part with the dragon. "I bet Natsu would be interested in this dragon." And without even thinking, she called over to the pink haired pyro. "Hey Natsu, I think you might be interested in this dragon!"

And just like that, Natsu came rushing over to join her. "What? Where? Is it Igneel?" he asked eagerly, looking around the room excitedly.

"No, but look," Lucy told him. "This guy looks like he's writing a novel," she explained. "And look, there's a part in here about a dragon." She then pointed out to him the part with the dragon.

"So does this mean it's not Igneel?" Natsu questioned disappointedly.

Lucy sighed. "No, Natsu, for the last time it's not Igneel," she told him.

"Oh well, it is pretty cool though," Natsu said. "But why would he be writing about a dragon? I don't really get it."

"Well don't look at me, I don't know either," Lucy replied.

They were both soon interrupted by Bilbo's continued rambling from the kitchen. "I can make you all some eggs if you like," the old hobbit said, as he began looking around for Gandalf. "Gandalf?"

"Just tea, thank you," Gandalf said from behind him.

"Oh right," Bilbo replied, as Happy suddenly flew past him and into the kitchen happily exclaiming "Yay! Fish!" and immediately began munching on a fish.

"Puun," Plue said with a lollipop in his mouth.

"Hey Happy, Plue, don't go hoggin' all the food!" Natsu exclaimed while rushing over to join the blue Exceed and the dog celestial spirit in the kitchen.

"And that's exactly what they do sometimes when they raid my apartment back home too," Lucy said with an annoyed sigh. "Except for Plue, of course," she added, as Bilbo only chuckled at that.

Just then there was suddenly a knock on the door as they heard someone calling out Bilbo's name followed by the old hobbit jumping back against the wall so whoever it was wouldn't spot him.

"Looks like you got some company out there," Gray said, as he just so happened to be standing next to the window and looked out when there was a knock.

"I'm not at home!" Bilbo whispered before slowly moving over to look out the window. "The Sackville-Bagginses," he said, moving back away from the window again.

"Who are the S-" Wendy began, only to have Bilbo quickly put a hand over her mouth to shush her before she could finish.

"Please keep your voice down, Miss Wendy," Bilbo told her. "They're just some relatives, and they've never forgiven me for living this long. And I wish to go about unnoticed by them."

"I'm sorry, I'll try to be quieter," Wendy said, once Bilbo had removed his hand away.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but is that the reason why you have that sign out there?" Lucy decided to ask, referring to the sign on the gate that said 'No Admittance Except On Party Business'.

"Yes, and I've got to get away from these confounded relatives hanging on the bell all day and never giving me a moment's peace," Bilbo said.

"If you want, I could ice 'em for ya if you don't want 'em around," Gray suggested, as he suddenly had ice in his hand while leaving Bilbo to wonder how he wasn't even cold just by touching ice.

Natsu, eager to join in, ignited his hand on fire. "Or maybe I could just-"

"No way! I don't wanna get in trouble because of you guys!" Lucy exclaimed frantically. "That especially goes double for you, Natsu!"

"Hey, I was just kidding, Lucy," Natsu told her.

"All the same, it would be best if all of you refrained from revealing your magic while you remain in the Shire," Gandalf told the Fairy Tail wizards, as Bilbo continued going about getting tea ready for everyone (and a glass of milk for Wendy).

"Aye sir!" Happy said.

"Yeah, you can totally count on us to not use magic while we're here," Wendy added.

Gandalf nodded reassuringly, at least hoping they would keep to their word on that, before proceeding to talk with Bilbo.

Later that evening, Gandalf and Bilbo were sitting outside talking with each other and smoking their pipes. However, they were soon interrupted by Natsu exclaiming frantically "Crap! I forgot to ask about that dragon!" from inside.

"Wow Natsu, so much for your chances of finding Igneel now," Happy told him.

"You were right, Gandalf," Bilbo said with a chuckle. "Quite the rowdy bunch indeed. I bet they would fit right in during the party."

"Hey, what do you think you're doing, Natsu?! You can't just go and eat someone else's fireplace!" they heard Lucy exclaim.

"Man, those sure were some tasty flames," Natsu said with a grin after eating the flames that were in the fireplace.

"Just don't go setting the house on fire, you pyro," Gray said.

"Oh yeah! How about I set you on fire, Ice-stripper!" Natsu shouted.

"And how about not fighting in here?!" Lucy exclaimed even louder in a voice that could almost rival Erza, and causing the two boys to immediately stop fighting and look over at her.

"Oh no! Lucy's turning into Erza! We're all doomed!" Happy exclaimed hysterically.

Lucy turned to glare at him. "Zip it, fleabag!" she told the blue Exceed, who hid behind Natsu to avoid the blond's wrath.

"Natsu, Lucy's scaring me!" Happy wailed.

"Wow, I've never seen Lucy act this scary before," Wendy said. "Unless you count the Scary Lucy from Edolas," she added as an after-thought.

"She might just be trying to be a substitute Erza, while Erza isn't here," Carla replied. "Although I must admit, she could almost rival Erza when she gets after those two like that."

"Yeah, I guess so," Wendy replied.

Back with Bilbo and Gandalf  
"As rowdy as they are, they're also quite an amusing bunch," Bilbo admitted, chuckling again.

"Yes I suppose they are, in their own way," Gandalf replied.

"Gandalf my old friend, this will be a night to remember," Bilbo said. "And perhaps for them as well," he added, referring to the Fairy Tail wizards.

* * *

**Oh, and I hope nobody minds that I sum up most of the parts from the LOTR movie because I don't want to copy it word for word so I just summed up parts of it for this chapter. And I also made a little change. The part where Gandalf is still riding through the Shire and when the hobbit children come running up to him, and he sets a couple fireworks off for them before continuing, I thought it would have been funny if Natsu did that by accident instead. And also, Natsu will get a chance to ask about the dragon eventually. In the meantime, I hope you still enjoy this chapter and I will be starting on the next chapter tomorrow. It's 12:22 now, and I'm really tired now. Next chapter will be the party, with a bit of Fairy Tail chaos (but it won't be too destructive though). Anyway, goodnight for now. *yawns***


	3. Fairies At A Hobbit Party Equals Chaos

**Hello everybody! First off, I would like to apologize for the super long wait on this chapter (and with this story in general, I might add). I suddenly caught the dreaded disease known as writers block, but thanks to TehZach1993 I'm finally back! YAY! *fires off a bunch of confetti cannons to celebrate* Anywho, you probably don't wanna continue to listen to me talk so I'll just shut up now and let you read. So without further ado, here's Natsu with the disclaimer.**

**Natsu: Why do I gotta do it?**

**Mew Sakura: *glares* Just do it! Don't make me have to get Erza here.**

**Natsu: Fine, anything's better than having Erza here. Mew Sakura doesn't own Fairy Tail or Lord of the Rings.**

**Mew Sakura: Thank you, now onto the story. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 3 Fairies At A Hobbit Party Equals Chaos**

Before the party started, the guests were treated to a sort of projection (courtesy of Gandalf) of Bilbo's adventures on the Quest for Erebor. _The dragon's attack on Erebor was shown, and King Thror's mad love of gold. They saw Bilbo's bravery and the company of the thirteen dwarves make their way to the Lonely Mountain, they sent Bilbo in as their master burglar to retrieve the Arkenstone. Eventually Smaug roared through to the great hall, where Thorin taunted him and sought to drown him in molten gold. "YOU will take NOTHING from me, dwarf! I laid low your warriors of old, I instill terror in the hearts of men! I am king under the mountain!" Smaug was shown flying off and burning Laketown, and landing atop the smoldering village and turning to Bard the Bowman in a tower, noticing his bow was broken. "Now that is a pity…what will you do now…bowman? You are forsaken, no help will come!" Smaug crept towards the tower, where Bard and his young son stand. "Is that your child? You cannot save him..from the FIRE!" Bard ingeniously placed the two wooden parts from his bow on either side of his son, embedding them in the tower, and using a belt clip and his own son's shoulder. "Stay still son!" "Tell me…wretch! How now can you, challenge me?" Smaug's voice said above them in the magical vision. Bard's son looked over his shoulder fearfully at Smaug. "Hey! Son…look at me…" Bard said soothingly, his son staring into his eyes. "Look..at..me." "You have nothing left, but your DEATH!" With a mighty roar Smaug charged the tower, exposing the unknown weakness of a missing scale on his left breast. Bard let loose the powerful black arrow…and it embedded itself fully in the exposed flesh. Smaug roared and screamed in absolute agony as he weakly flew above Laketown and roared and screamed with his last breath: "NO! NO-AAGH!" He fell from the sky silently as his glowing eyes went dark.  
__Time skip to Thorin and Bilbo parting in friendship: "I wish to part from you in friendship, you were right...stealing the Arkenstone from me...it was what a true friend would do. ...If more people valued home and friends...above wealth and gold...the world would be a merrier place..."_

The Fairy Tail wizards, as well as all of the hobbits that were gathered around, all continued to watch the scene unfold before them with interest. When it had ended, Natsu decided to be the first to comment.

"Whoa! That was AWESOME!" Well, it was more like an excited exclamation. "Though I bet I could have taken on the dragon myself if I were there," the pyro declared with his usual cockiness. "After asking if it's seen Igneel, of course."

"More like you probably would have gone off to search for Igneel together," Gray sarcastically remarked.

"What was that, popsicle-brain?!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed. "Great, way to kill the moment, Gray!"

"Will you guys knock it off already? You're starting to cause a scene," Lucy told them before Gray could retort, as hobbits were indeed beginning to stare at them. "And Gray, your clothes."

"Not again!" Gray exclaimed, realizing that he was indeed in his underwear.

Natsu snickered. "Hey Lucy, by 'scene' did you actually mean Gray taking his clothes off?"

"Shut up, Natsu!" Gray retorted.

"Anyway, I actually thought the part where in the end Thorin and Bilbo parted ways in friendship was the best," Lucy commented, deciding to ignore Natsu and Gray's fighting. "It just proves that having friends is more valuable than wealth." Of course, she was also thinking of when she had gone to confront her father after Phantom Lord had attacked Fairy Tail to try to capture her to return her home.

"Wow Lucy, that's coming from someone who always obsesses over rent money," Happy teased.

"Shut it, fleabag!" Lucy told him. "That's only when my rent is due."

"I agree with you about that part, Lucy," Wendy quietly spoke up, not at all disappointed that the dragon was nothing like her mother Grandina the Sky Dragon.

"Yeah! 'Cause friendship is Fairy Tail!" Natsu declared loudly enough that everyone around him heard. He then stuck his hand in the air in the form of the guild's signature sign. "And Fairy Tail will always be number one!" he added while giving his trademark grin.

"Aye!" Happy agreed. "Well I'm off to go find some tasty fish to eat."

"Huh? Hey Happy, wait up!" Natsu called after him, taking off after the blue Exceed.

Although by this point some of the more respectable hobbits began to whisper amongst themselves about the strange Bigfolk that they've never even seen before in Middle Earth who they seemed to find just plain weird and a bit too rowdy for their liking, and also about how much they stood out from other Bigfolks here in Middle Earth. As if their odd hair colors and the way they dressed weren't bad enough, some hobbits even questioned the dark haired boy's stripping habit as well as how the busty blond haired girl's clothes were a bit too inappropriate and immodest compared to how other women of Middle Earth dress. And then there were the two cats, just what sort of cats were they that had the ability to talk like people? And not to mention since when do cats even fly? Were the questions that any of the more respectable hobbits were all thinking, especially the Sackville-Bagginses that Bilbo didn't like.

"Honestly," Carla huffed. "Did they have to make that much of a scene?"

"Right? So much for first impressions," Lucy muttered as she suddenly felt her self-esteem drop a little.

The party soon went out with a bang, literally, as Gandalf had begun the first of his fireworks.

"Wow!" Lucy exclaimed in awe.

"They're all so pretty," Wendy agreed as she was also admiring the fireworks, when she soon spotted Frodo amid the crowd of hobbits. "Hey look, there's Frodo-san!" she suddenly pointed out.

The dark haired hobbit had just gotten his friend Sam to go dance with a hobbit-woman he kept glancing at, when he noticed the Fairy Tail wizards (minus Natsu and Happy, who were still off somewhere stuffing their faces) walking over to join him.

"Mind if we join you?" Lucy inquired though she flopped down beside him anyway and putting her head face down on the table with a whiny-sounding sigh that also indicated that she was annoyed mixed in with it.

"Sure, go right ahead," Frodo replied, as the four Fairy Tail wizards took a seat next to the younger Baggins who kept glancing at the blond curiously.

"Yeah, it's better if you don't ask," Lucy told him, holding up a hand before he could say anything. "I think I just lost my self-esteem from that now."

"You mean because of your friend with the pink hair?" Frodo inquired.

"Natsu? Yeah, he's always the one causing some sort of scene like that," Lucy replied. "And then there's Gray's stripping habit to deal with as well."

"Just call it a curse because of how I had to train while learning how to use ice magic from Ur of all people," Gray stated dryly. "In other words, I had to learn to adapt to the cold that way by stripping."

Frodo blinked. "Well I'll admit that is a bit...disturbing," he said hesitantly, worried he might offend the ice wizard by accident. "And although it is odd for someone to show enthusiasm about dragons, this Igneel he mentioned must really be somebody important to Natsu."

Wendy nodded. "Natsu and I were both raised by dragons as well as being taught our magic by them. The Fire Dragon Igneel is Natsu's foster father, while the Sky Dragon Grandina is my foster mother," she explained.

"By the way, where did he run off to anyway? The blue cat too?" Frodo queried, when he noticed Natsu and Happy were missing.

"If you mean Natsu and Happy, they're probably somewhere pigging-out and stuffing their faces," Gray replied.

Sure enough, that just so happened to be exactly what they were doing. While Lucy and the others were discussing with Frodo about which of Gandalf's fireworks were their favorites as well as talking about the projection display about Bilbo's adventure that Gandalf had set up, the pink haired pyro and his talking blue cat had indeed found the nearest buffet table and were now stuffing their faces when they was soon joined by two hobbits who introduced themselves as Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, or Merry and Pippin for short, and pretty soon Natsu found himself being dragged off by the two mischievous hobbits.

"So what are we doin' again?" a confused Natsu asked. "And what's it gotta do with the old man's firework cart? Just being near it is makin' me feel sick..."

Merry and Pippin didn't really understand why the cart would even make the pink haired boy feel sick in the first place, judging by the confused looks they were giving him.

"Eh, nevermind, it's just a bit of motion sickness," Natsu said, slightly coming out of it a bit.

"But it's not in motion right now, though," Pippin pointed out.

"Yeah, but just thinkin' about usually makes me wanna hurl," Natsu admitted.

"Alright," Merry said after checking to see if the coast was clear. "Quickly, help me lift Pippin into the cart."

Once Pippin was in the cart, he began looking for a really good firework to set off until he found a big red one in the shape of a dragon's head which the three of them all agreed on. Natsu, of course, gave a feral grin as soon as he saw it and commented that it -in his own words- 'almost kinda looked like Igneel'.

Meanwhile  
Happy was now flying around looking for Natsu after he disappeared somewhere with the two hobbits Merry and Pippin, having been busy munching on a fish to even notice he had left.

"Natsu!" he called out. "Natsu, where are you? Natsu!"

He continued to fly around until he soon ended up coming across Lucy, Gray, Wendy, and Carla -somehow talking with Frodo had made Lucy feel a bit better, as she was back to her usual self again.

"Hey, have you guys seen Natsu? I can't find him anywhere," Happy asked them.

"I thought he was with you," Gray replied.

"Yeah, but now he's gone and I can't find him!" Happy wailed frantically.

"Calm down, tomcat," Carla told him. "I'm sure he's just somewhere enjoying this party, so there's no need to worry."

"Aye, I guess you're right," Happy replied glumly.

"Gee Happy, there's no reason to look so glum because if it," Lucy told him, which only seemed to make the blue Exceed feel even worse for some reason even though Lucy only meant to cheer him up.

"Waaaahhhh! Lucy's being cold to me!" Happy wailed.

"Really? Quit overreacting already," Lucy muttered.

Back with Natsu, Merry, &amp; Pippin  
The three of them had taken the dragon firework into the nearest tent where Natsu used his flames to light it just by igniting a single finger, when they suddenly realized something as Merry and Pippin began passing it back and forth between each other while arguing about how it was supposed be in the ground and outside.

"Will you guys just hurry it up already before it-" before Natsu had a chance to finish that sentence, the firework had suddenly already shot up into the sky taking the tent along with it. "-goes off," Natsu finished too late.

Merry and Pippin were now on the ground covered in soot, while Natsu -being a fire wizard- remained unaffected though his hair was now slightly disheveled from the firework going off.

"Hey, what's that?" Wendy suddenly pointed out, as the firework suddenly exploded and took the form a dragon made entirely of flames.

"A dragon made of flames?" Lucy queried when she noticed it. "Must be another one of Gandalf-san's fireworks."

"I'm willing to bet it was probably Natsu," Gray stated.

The Fairy Tail wizards all just stood there watching, unsure of what they should do, as all the hobbits were trying to take cover from the 'dragon'. They even noticed Frodo calling out to Bilbo to 'watch out for the dragon', as he managed to pull the older hobbit down as the 'dragon' soared over them and right towards Natsu's open mouth.

The hobbits all began curiously watching as the pyro was now devouring the flames, and wondering to themselves how that was even possible.

"Now I've got a major fire in my belly!" Natsu declared once he was finished. "And I'm about to let it out with a Fire Dragon... ROOOOAAAAAARRR!" he bellowed, sending the firework dragon shooting straight up into the sky as it exploded into a huge firework that lit up almost the whole sky, and grinned as the hobbits all cheered and applauded at his little firework display. Though the more respectable hobbits -like the Sackville-Bagginses, and many others like them- were still disapproving of the strange Bigfolk.

Even Merry and Pippin watched in awe at the pink haired wizard who could breathe fire like an actual dragon, and they were about to consider getting another firework to set off when Gandalf suddenly appeared behind the two and grabbing each of them by the ear.

"Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, I might have known," the old wizard said sternly, before glancing over at Natsu who had now begun to sneak away. "And Natsu Dragneel, it would seem I have failed to realize that you are just as troublesome as these two here," he added in reference to Merry and Pippin.

Natsu sweat-dropped, grinning sheepishly.

"Aye! That's Natsu for ya," Happy replied.

"Told ya so," Gray added smugly.

Gandalf then had Merry and Pippin, _and_ Natsu as well, all wash dishes as their punishment while he was supervising to ensure the three of them didn't try to slack off.

"Aw come on gramps, it's not like we went overboard and accidently destroyed a town or something," Natsu protested.

"Why would we want to go overboard and destroy a town?" Pippin queried curiously.

"Don't you start picking up on his little quirks now, Peregrin Took," Gandalf sternly warned him. "And Natsu, you had better not go destroying any towns even if it is by accident."

"Aye," Natsu mumbled.

"Aye aye!" Pippin added just for a bit of humor, as Natsu suddenly couldn't help snickering.

Even Merry decided to join in as well. "Aye aye aye!"

"Really? What's with the bad Happy impressions?" Lucy said.

"Face it Lucy, it's because I've become more awesome than you here," Happy teased her.

"Zip it, furball!" Lucy muttered.

"Either it's Happy impressions, or they're probably just trying to sound like pirates now judging by all those 'ayes' they're doing," Gray suggested. "But either way, it's definitely gonna get old fast."

"Ooooh, now Gray is jealous of my awesome cuteness," Happy bragged teasingly, earning a punch in the face from the ice wizard.

"Just shut up, Happy," Gray told him.

"Lucy, Gray, and Happy," Gandalf said. "Are you three wishing to join them as well?"

"Nope, sorry but I'm gonna go find Carla now," Happy replied before flying off to go do just that.

Lucy and Gray took off after him, rejoining Wendy and Carla just as Bilbo was now about to give a speech.

During Bilbo's speech, however, the Fairy Tail wizards all suddenly felt a disturbing presence coming from something the old hobbit had in his possession. Though Natsu and Wendy both felt it with their dragon senses, while the others just sensed that something was off.

Still, it wasn't like they could just randomly point out whatever was causing the evil presence without causing a panic so the Fairy Tail wizards just kept it to themselves for now. Even Natsu, surprisingly, didn't comment on it. Well, at least not until Bilbo had suddenly vanished right before everyone's eyes.

Before Natsu had a chance to ask questions, however, he suddenly found himself being whisked away by Gandalf who then found Lucy, Gray, Wendy, and the two Exceeds before then heading back to Bilbo's hobbit-hole before the old hobbit himself arrived there.

* * *

**Again, I'd like to thank TehZach1993 for helping me to keep this story going. Arigato gozaimasu! And I hope ya'll enjoy this. Read and review. :) Reviews give me the motivation to continue. ^_^**


	4. Discussing the Ring & Leaving the Shire

**Hiya everybody! I'z back with another chapter, thanks to TehZach1993 helping me to keep this story going. Arigato gozaimasu! ^_^ We've actually started a collab on this story, so TehZach1993 has been doing the parts with the LOTR characters while I work with Team Natsu's parts.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or LOTR.**

* * *

**Chapter 4 Discussing the One Ring &amp; Leaving the Shire**

Bilbo was seen packing a travel bag before coming round the corner and bumping into Gandalf. "I suppose you think that was terribly clever...there are many magic rings in this world, Bilbo Baggins and NONE of them should be used lightly!"

Bilbo sighed, "Fine...You'll keep a watch over Frodo? I'm leaving everything to him..."

Gandalf nodded, "And the ring?"

"It's in an envelope on the mantlepiece...no...it's...here in my pocket." Bilbo said, softly reaching into his pocket.

The Fairy Tail wizards just stood watching in silence at the scene unfolding before them, though they were confused as to what was so special about this ring the old hobbit had in his possession.

"After all why shouldn't it stay with me? It's MINE I found it! It came to ME!" Bilbo began ranting angrily to himself.

"There's no need to get angry..." Gandalf said.

"Well if I'm angry then it's YOUR fault! What business is it of yours what I do with my own things!?"

Wendy suddenly began to feel very frightened by his raised voice, as she could sense that he suddenly didn't seem like the kind old hobbit they had met earlier anymore. She felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look back to see that it was only Natsu looking as though he were acting as a protective older brother towards her.

"So, um, what exactly is so special about this ring anyway?" Lucy decided to ask, although a bit hesitantly.

"Y-you want it for yourself!" Bilbo accused Gandalf, causing the elderly wizard's eyes to flash and light to seemingly be sucked out of the room as he shouted in a deeper voice than usual: "BILBO BAGGINS!" Bilbo backed into the wall frightfully, "Do not take me as some conjurer of cheap tricks! I am NOT trying to rob you!"

The menacing air about the room lifted as the lights returned and Gandalf crouched down to Bilbo's level, "I am trying to help you!" Bilbo whimpered and hugged Gandalf, seemingly having come to his senses.

"How long have we been friends, dear Bilbo? Trust me as you once did...let the ring go." Gandalf said as Bilbo seemed to be short of breath.

"And of course, I end up being ignored with my question," Lucy mumbled, suddenly feeling dejected now.

"If you ask me, there's somethin' fishy about that ring," Natsu pointed out.

"Doesn't smell fishy to me," Happy stated plainly.

"Wrong kinda fishy there, buddy," Natsu told him.

"Well, I'm sure we'll be allowed to ask questions about it later," Carla told all of them.

Bilbo nodded, "Yes...I shall leave it to Frodo." Bilbo stood in the middle of the room and gently opened his palm. Visible beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and he appeared to be struggling as he tilted his hand...and let the ring fall to the floorboards. It hit the floor with a clang that was suspicious since it was such a small, plain golden ring. Bilbo instantly felt relieved and looked like an immense burden had been lifted from his shoulders as he approached Team Natsu and shook their hands, "It was a pleasure getting to know you all...it really was, I apologize for that..." Bilbo turned to Gandalf and nodded, "I think I've thought up an ending for my book...'And he lived happily ever after...til the end of his days." Gandalf stooped down to the small hobbit holding a walking stick and traveling pack.

"And I'm sure he will, my friend...Farewell Bilbo." Gandalf spoke, they watched as Bilbo left Bag End and his small form wandered on the dirt path into the night.

"That does sound like a nice ending," Lucy commented, before suddenly calling out to Bilbo as he was leaving. "Can I read it when it's finished? Pretty please!"

Gandalf turned to the Fairy Tail group, "This ring is no ordinary trinket, it holds a powerful dark enchantment on it...however, I believe I must confirm a few things first. Our world was once under the tyranny of a dark lord known as Sauron, who forged this ring in the fires of a mountain...in order to subjugate the entire world to his will."

"The ring was cut from his hand by a royal known as Isildur, who in turn was killed after he kept the ring as opposed to destroying it. It disappeared...until Bilbo found it during the Quest for Erebor...in a dark cave where it had dwelt in the hands of a tortured creature known as Gollum."

The Fairy Tail wizards seemed to ponder this newfound information, even Natsu -surprisingly- was doing his own thinking over what Gandalf had just explained of the ring, as the group began to wonder just how it was even possible for a little trinket such as this ring to be capable of holding so much darkness and evil. And if that was so, then why hasn't anybody thought to have it destroyed? Though what Natsu was confused about was what a 'gollum' was, though he decided to hold off asking about it for now as he would probably soon find out eventually. Well probably, anyway.

Meanwhile, Wendy was still trying to recover from the initial fright she received from Bilbo's over-possessiveness of the ring. "I-I don't like that thing if it was making him act the way he did just now," she said quietly.

Frodo burst into the house, "Bilbo!? ...He's gone." Frodo turned to Gandalf, who was sealing the plain golden ring into an envelope. "Natsu, Gray...you will come with me...Happy should come to carry Natsu since I assume horseback is out of the question? Lucy, Wendy, Carla...please stay with Frodo and keep him safe."

"But you've only just arrived! I don't understand!" Frodo blurted to Gandalf, the wizard sighed and looked at Frodo. "Neither do I, but we shall return...keep the ring secret, do not open the envelope under any circumstances until we return!"

"Yeah! It's finally time for some action!" Natsu declared loudly, fist-pumping into the air. "I'm all fired up!"

"Just try not to go overboard, you pyro," Gray told him.

"Put some clothes on first, Gray!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Crap!" Gray exclaimed, realizing he had stripped again and quickly got his clothes back on before he, Natsu, and Happy left with Gandalf.

* * *

Gandalf led them to a large black tower, at the foot of which a white robed man with pure white hair and beard with sprinkles of grey and black here and there met them. Gandalf had explained to the trio from Fairy Tail about the Nine and how Sauron had been driven from Dol Guldur in the past when Bilbo went on his adventure.

"The hour is late, and Gandalf the Grey arrives to Isengard...seeking my council." Saruman said a tad pompously, Gandalf dismounted his horse and removed his hat, bowing slightly. "Hello, Saruman."

Saruman then turned his gaze to the Fairy Tail trio standing beside Gandalf. "You two do not appear to be from Middle Earth, and yet you seem to be familiar with Gandalf," he observed, taking into consideration the fact that they were dressed strangely to be from Middle Earth as well as their odd hair colors also making them stand out. And then there was the blue flying cat as well.

"Aww, why am I always being overlooked when I'm supposed to be the cute one here?" Happy protested with a sniffle.

Both boys glanced over at Gandalf as if waiting for the 'ok' allowing them permission to speak. Gandalf nodded to them to go ahead. "But do not give away too much about yourselves."

Natsu and Gray nodded in reply before stepping forward to introduce themselves, and Happy as well, to the White Wizard.

"We're wizards from the Fairy Tail guild which is in an entire different dimension known as Earthland," Gray spoke first, though cautiously as Gandalf had advised, and choosing his words carefully as he spoke. "Though I have a feeling Middle Earth magic works a lot differently than what we specialize in. My magic is called Ice-Make."

Natsu stepped forward next. "I'm Natsu Dragneel, and I'm a Dra...uh...I mean a fire wizard," he quickly had to stop himself from saying Dragon Slayer since he somehow had a bad feeling about this Saruman, as he too refrained from giving too much about himself.

"And I'm Gray Fullbuster, by the way," Gray quickly added in.

"And my name's Happy," the blue Exceed added. "My magic is Aera, which gives me the ability to fly."

Saruman seemed to be pondering this newfound information about this Earthland, as he led them into the depths of the tower, where he explained to them how Sauron could not take physical form, but his spirit still existed within a great eye wreathed in flame that saw everything known as the Eye of Sauron.

Saruman nodded, "The hour is later than any of you think...the Nine are abroad, taking the form of riders in black. They will find the Ring...and kill the halfling who carries it."

The Fairy Tail wizards gasped in horror as they too were taking this all in, as they also glanced over at Gandalf.

"Gramps, you don't think he's talking about..." Natsu suddenly realized.

"Frodo and the girls..." Gray added.

"Aye, Carla's probably wishing I was still there to protect her right now," Happy added boldly.

Gandalf turned to Natsu and Gray, "We must leave, Frodo is in danger!" Gandalf made his way to the doors, all of which instantly snapped shut and locked themselves. Saruman spoke from behind them, "You did not seriously think your love of the halfling would protect him from the will of Sauron? Against the power of Sauron...there can be no victory..."

Gandalf's eyes widened in horror as he slowly turned, the trio of Fairy Tail-ers would notice his hand gripped his wooden staff tightly.

"There is only one option...we must join with Sauron..." Saruman said. Gandalf slowly approached Saruman, both wizards held their staffs in their hands. "It would be wise...my friend." Saruman said, in a threatening way. He thought for a moment, and then glanced at the Fairy Tail trio and added, "And your world must be full of many powerful wizards, I wonder just how many of them can be convinced to join forces with Sauron." Natsu and Gray both tensed up for a fight at that, because nobody threatens their guild or their comrades like that.

Gandalf clenched his jaw, "Tell me...old friend...when did Saruman the Wise abandon reason...for insanity?"

Saruman's eyes flashed, and Gandalf was suddenly thrown backwards through one of the closed doors, splintering it as he hit the wall.

"Yeah, well fat chance of that happening 'cause you ain't layin' a finger on our guild!" Gray stated defiantly. "And not to mention, you just crossed the line by making that threat towards our comrades!"

"Never underestimate wizards of Fairy Tail!" Natsu added. "'Cause when you mess with us, we fight back!" His whole body was soon engulfed in flames. "So take this! FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!"

"Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray joined in, after discarding his shirt. "When you try to pick a fight with Fairy Tail wizards, we don't just stand there and take it. We fight back!"

Saruman's body vanished into smoke to avoid the attacks, Gandalf shot forth in a blur of light and knocked Saruman into a wall, which crumbled slightly from the impact. Gandalf thrust his staff forward and Saruman was hit by another invisible shockwave. "Whatever...he's offered you...you are a fool...to believe him!" Gandalf wheezed.

Saruman's eyes narrowed as a vicious wind was felt throughout the room. Its effect was similar to that of Bluenote's gravity magic...only much stronger.

"Ice-Make: Floor!" Gray smirked in satisfaction as Saruman nearly slipped on the ice.

"Flames of my right hand, flames of my left hand! You put 'em together, you get: FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!" A huge ball of fire was sent hurtling towards the white wizard, courtesy of Natsu.

"Yeah! Way to go, Natsu!" Happy cheered from his hiding place.

Through the smoke they saw the shadowy figure of Saruman...looking irritated...but unharmed. "No..." Gandalf whispered. "I gave you the chance of aiding me willingly...but you have all elected the way of PAIN!" An enormous shockwave blast sent Gandalf, Natsu, Happy and Gray smashing through the wall...and out into the open air outside of the tower of Orthanc.

Saruman stepped forward to the massive hole that had been created, and used his magic to increase gravity for the wizards...making their descent all the more dangerous and quick. "GWAIHIR!" Shouted Gandalf, just as they were about to hit the ground...enormous eagles swooped underneath them and began flying them out of Isengard. "We must get to the Shire!" Gandalf told the King of the Eagles.

"Ugh...I think I'm gonna be sick..." Natsu said as soon as they were now on the eagles.

Gray sweat-dropped. "I don't think giant birds count as vehicles, Natsu," he told him, though he was still somewhat shaken from that battle. "Oh man, now that just made battling Lyon on Galuna Island seem like child's play compared to that," he added in reference to his childhood rival.

"Aye, and not to mention battles following that too," Happy agreed, who was also still trembling in fear. "I just hope we don't have to come back here again."

"Aye..." Natsu mumbled weakly in agreement through his motion sickness, though he was trying to do his best to fight and overcome the motion.

* * *

The eagles dropped them off at the Shire, where Gandalf went up to the door and entered without knocking. Frodo practically leapt from his seat near Lucy and Wendy, "Gandalf! Natsu and Gray! Where-"

"Lock the door." Gandalf gruffly told Frodo, who looked rather startled but did as he was told. After Frodo had fixed the travelers with something to eat and drink, Gandalf took the envelope containing the ring from the mantelpiece and tossed it in the fire. Using the tongs, as the envelope's paper burned away, Gandalf took it from the fireplace and told Frodo to hold out his hand. "It's quite cool."

Frodo blinked as Gandalf asked if he saw anything. "It's some form of Elvish...I can't read it."

"There are few who can...the language is that of the Black Speech of Mordor...which I will not utter here. In the common tongue it says: 'One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness...bind them."

"Ok, I'm officially freaked out now," Lucy said after a while.

"So that must be why it practically reeks with the scent of evil," Natsu stated seriously. "But hey, you coulda at least had me burn it if that's what you wanted," he added while igniting a flame in his hand and grinning wildly. "'Cause after all, that is my specialty. It all burns the same to me."

"Yeah, but I don't think Frodo would have wanted the whole house burned down in the process," Gray coolly pointed out. "And that grin just makes you look like a complete pyromaniac."

"There is only one way to destroy it, Natsu Dragneel...it has to be thrown into the fires of the mountain that it was forged in." Gandalf said gravely, Frodo sat at a table next to Gray and across from Gandalf. "Sauron and his forces are seeking this ring, if he were to obtain it he would have all the power at his disposal to cover the land in a second darkness."

"Y-You don't think they'll be coming after Frodo-san, do you?" Wendy asked nervously, and a bit worried.

Frodo was instructed to pack a bag, Gandalf nodded at Wendy's question, "I think they are already on their way here." Rustling out in the bushes was heard.

"Don't worry I got this!" Natsu declared. He was about to make a dive through the window before suddenly remembering that he wouldn't fit, and made a mad dash for the door instead. A scuffling sound could soon be heard as Natsu pounced on the 'intruder'. "Gotcha! Give it up intruder! You can't escape the Salamander Death Grip!" he declared, which Gray and Lucy both deadpanned at.

"Oi oi! It's me!" The ginger haired hobbit cried out as he was hoisted into the hobbit house. "Sam!" Frodo cried out. "I was jus' trimmin' the hedges, sir! Honest!" Sam said nervously to Natsu. "What did you hear!?" Gandalf demanded, "Nothing! Well...an awful lot bout a ring...and dark forces...you all are wizards...please don't turn me into something!"

The Fairy Tail group were unsure of how to reply to that, until Gray suddenly gave a devilish smirk.

"Now that you mention it, you probably would make a good popsicle," the ice wizard suggested darkly just to scare him a bit, though it was really meant to be a joke.

"Gray! Really?!" Lucy exclaimed, looking completely shocked that he would even consider something like that.

"What? I was only kidding," Gray replied. "Natsu's not the only one who can make jokes like that, you know. Besides, you realize I wouldn't really do anything like that." Though he couldn't resist snickering at Sam's reaction to that.

"Yeah, that humor was just ice cold there, Gray," Natsu added dryly. "Heh, no pun intended there."

"Aye, that's Gray for ya," Happy agreed.

"Oh for goodness sake, nobody will be turning anyone into anything, and that's that," Carla stated plainly.

Gandalf sighed, "Well...you should all pack some travel bags and essentials." Gandalf floated some packs with some clothes that wouldn't draw as much attention to the Fairy Tail group, as well as some hooded cloaks to conceal their unusual hair colors. "You all should change into something that won't make you stand out." Gandalf instructed the mages.

"Wait...where are we going?" Sam blinked as he was still being held by Natsu.

"You should make your way to Rivendell...Frodo you should travel as Mr. Underhill, do not reveal your name of Baggins to anyone you do not know." Gandalf said.

Sam's eyes bulged and he began wriggling out of Natsu's grasp, "We're going to see the Elves!? Me!? I've always wanted to see elves!"

The Fairy Tail wizard then went to go change into the clothes Gandalf had provided them with, though Natsu still continued to wear his scarf as he stubbornly refused to take it off and he could also be heard grumbling something about how there was nothing wrong with his hair and that it was natural and it wasn't his fault it made him stand out here.

"Natsu's scarf was given to him by Igneel before he up and left, that's why it's so special to him," Happy ended up explaining to Gandalf, Frodo, and Sam.

"Wait...you were raised by a dragon?! That's amazing! I've never heard of a dragon showing kindness to a human before!" Sam said excitedly.

Gandalf nodded and led them to the borders of the Shire, in a forest. "I shall go on ahead, you are all to meet me at an inn in the town of Bree known as the Prancing Pony. There you will meet two allies of mine, trust them...but be careful...the road ahead will be perilous."

The group agreed to stay out of trouble...well, with only one exception...

"Well I can't say I'll promise to not burn down any enemies along the way, gramps, but I'll try not to go overboard," Natsu said. "By the way, sorry I jumped ya," he added to Sam, grinning sheepishly. "I guess I did kinda go a little overboard with that."

"Now that's an understatement," Lucy muttered.

"Aye! That's our Natsu for ya!" Happy agreed.

Gandalf nodded, "I want you all to keep an eye on Frodo...and Frodo? Do NOT put the ring on, no matter the circumstances. The dark lord's minions will be drawn to its power." Though before taking his leave of them, he suddenly turned so he was looking at the Fairy Tail group this time. "And another thing that especially goes for Natsu Dragneel, and you as well Wendy Marvell. You would do well not to mention being raised by dragons to any of the Free Peoples of Middle Earth, for it will end up creating a mutual bond of distrust between you and them. And mentioning your titles as Dragon Slayers is also strictly prohibited as well, as it will have people thinking that you are mocking dragonslayers who have actually slain a dragon."

"I understand, Gandalf-san," Wendy replied.

Gandalf nodded, before turning to Natsu. "And Natsu, with your magic being closely similar to that of a dragon, I am strictly prohibiting your use of magic for as long as you are here in Middle Earth. That goes especially for when you are among the elves as well, for they especially will not trust you if they learn of your magic being dragon-related."

Natsu's jaw suddenly dropped in complete shock. "What?! Aww come on, you can't be serious! How am I supposed to fight, or protect Frodo, without using magic?! That just ain't fair, gramps?!"

Gandalf sighed. "That is why I am giving you this." He handed Natsu a sword that he was to use instead.

"Arrrrhhh! I don't even know how to use a stupid sword, though!" Natsu shouted in protest with his fists ablaze, as he was already becoming increasingly frustrated as to why the old wizard would have his magic prohibited in Middle Earth as well as not being able to freely talk about Igneel whenever he wanted. He would just have to prove to the people of this world that not all dragons are all as bad as they're made out to be, and not to mention Igneel was his dad so why could he not express himself freely on he was proud to be the son of the Fire Dragon King.

"Natsu, please just accept it already," Frodo spoke up from beside him. "The more you stand there arguing about it, is just wasting more time for us."

"Fine then!" Natsu grumbled before snatching the sword from Gandalf and angrily storming on ahead of everyone.

They eventually reached the outskirts of a farm...and Sam stopped in his tracks next to a hobbit-sized scarecrow. "This is it..."

Frodo looked back, "This is what?"

"if I take one more step...it'll be the farthest from home I've ever been." Sam answered quietly...slightly afraid.

Frodo smiled slightly and placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, "Come on, Sam..."

Sam tentatively began to walk forward again. "Sam, remember what Bilbo used to say? It's a dangerous business...going out your door...you step onto the road...and if you don't keep your feet...there's no telling where the world will sweep you off to."

"And being Fairy Tail wizards, every day is considered a new adventure for us," Natsu added in addition to that, his foul mood about Gandalf prohibiting his use of magic slightly going away a bit.

Gray nodded, smirking. "I can't argue there."

"Yeah, but just be sure to never take Gray's icy humor seriously," Happy added teasingly.

"Oh come on, you guys are seriously still holding that against me?! I wasn't really serious about the whole popsicle thing!" Gray protested frantically.

Natsu suddenly paused and turned around, throwing his hand in the air in the form of the Fairy Tail signature sign for extra effect as well as in the hopes of boosting Sam's spirit so he would be a bit more comfortable about leaving, while giving off his trademark grin in the process, before turning back to catch up with everyone.

They entered into the farm's cornfield, which wasn't as tall as 'big folk' cornfields, however...two familiar hobbits crashed through the field on the group's left, and ran smack into Natsu and Gray. "Oh look! It's Natsu! And Frodo and Sam and Lucy...and Wendy and the cats that fly!" Merry said happily

"And Gray!" Pippin said from on top of Gray.

"Mind gettin' off me already?" Gray asked, firmly but gently shoving the hobbit off of him.

"What are you both doing here?" Frodo asked with a smile.

That was when they noticed Pippin and Merry had arm-fulls of vegetables and shouting of an angry hobbit farmer was heard nearby. "You've been into farmer Maggot's crop!" Sam accused.

"Here, hold these!" Pippin shoved two lettuce heads into Wendy's arms and some carrots and a sack of potatoes into Natsu and Lucy's.

"We'd better go!" Merry said, as the hobbits rushed the opposite way through the crop from which the shouting of farmer Maggot was being heard getting closer.

"We only took a couple carrots!" Merry said defensively to Sam.

"And the lettuce! And the two sacks of potatoes last week! And some turnips!" Pippin corrected.

"Yeah, I think we get it already," Gray told him, as Natsu nonchalantly roasted a potato with his flames and ate it. "Seriously Natsu? Don't just go around eating stolen vegetables like that!"

"What? It was tempting, so I just couldn't help myself," Natsu shot back with his mouth full.

"Aye!" Happy agreed. "Even though I prefer fish."

Frodo and the other three hobbits ended up resting for the night, while Merry had decided to catch some fish for them...at Happy's mention of wanting fish. "Well...at least we won't get cold with a fire wizard here...and if it gets too hot we can always have Gray use his magic..." Pippin said. "I've never seen any of you before the party...come to think of it...are you from around here?" Sam asked them.

The Fairy Tail group glanced at each other as they then began to explain that they were from Fiore, which was in an entirely different dimension known as Earthland. They even spoke of their guild -which was located in the center of the town of Magnolia, and going off of that to explain to them what a wizard guild was, and also about the different jobs they go on to earn money. Natsu and Wendy also told about how they were raised by dragon, the Fire Dragon Igneel and the Sky Dragon Grandina, and how they also learned their Dragon Slayer magic from them -the last and only time they will ever be able to freely mention their dragons again in Middle Earth before their arrival in Bree. And Natsu also told about how Happy was born from a dragon egg that he found one day when he was still a little kid, which he and another girl from their guild named Lisanna raised together -the hobbits smiled fondly, as they thought that story was cute with Natsu and Lisanna as kids taking care of a dragon egg together, as it only meant that the usually hotheaded firebreathing pyro actually did have a soft gentle side to him. And afterwards, Wendy also decided to tell about how she found Carla's egg as well back when she was still a member of the Cait Shelter guild. And then Natsu just had to bring up their Galuna Island story, which even Wendy and Carla didn't know about since they hadn't even joined Fairy Tail at the time.

"You mean you and Happy stole that request when it was actually S-class, you sneaky cat burglars!" Lucy reminded him.

"Happy, shame on you for stealing an S-class quest!" Carla reprimanded, as the blue Exceed only grinned sheepishly in reply and began munching on a fish.

That was when the air grew cold...so cold they could see their breath. "Was it this cold to begin with..?" Merry asked.

"Don't look at me, I ain't causing it," Gray told him.

Sam looked over at Frodo...who was staring fearfully into the darkness of the forest. A shadowy figure wearing a black cloak and hood could be made out in the shadow, and the Black Speech of Mordor was spoken...and it rang in their ears...as the horrifying voice chanted the inscription on the ring:

"Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!" Frodo felt weak, he lightly fingered the ring in his pocket and appeared to be going into some sort of trance. "We see you...halfling...you ...cannot...escape!"

A heavily armored horse with red glowing eyes was charging toward them, seated in the saddle was a hooded figure in all black...and he wielded a sword with which he sought cut them all down.

Even the Fairy Tail group looked on in complete shock and horror as they saw the rider charging towards them.

"W-What is that?" Wendy squeaked in fear.

"Well whatever it is, I say bring it on! I'm all fired up!" Natsu challenge, igniting his hands on fire and purposely forgetting about the sword Gandalf had provided him with.

"Hold it, Natsu!" Lucy shouted, as she was holding him back from charging forward to fight it off. "We don't even know what that is, or how powerful it could be. So don't just charge in without a plan."

"Try thinking before you act, Flamebrain," Gray added. "And did you seriously just forget already that your magic's been prohibited here due to being too dragon-like?"

"Yeah, so? But it's still the only way I know how to fight," Natsu shot back.

As the rider in black was about to reach them, a pillar of blue flame erupted between the group of hobbits and wizards and the Ringwraith. The figure of Gandalf in his pointy grey hat was seen within the flames, the flames that seemed to leave everything untouched but the rider and its mount. The black rider leaped off the horse before it was reduced to ashes before the group's eyes.

A hoarse laugh was heard coming from the hood of the Ringwraith. "Oh, old Grey-Beard!"

The flames vanished to reveal Gandalf standing there looking more furious and wrathful than any of them had seen him..

"Lead them across the river Brandywine! You know the way, Meriadoc Brandybuck! I would trust Peregrin with this...but I wouldn't." Gandalf ordered them. Frodo walked forward, and found himself seperated by some sort of magical barrier between the group and Gandalf and his foe. "Gandalf!" Frodo cried out.

"Do you think your magic can keep them alive?" The ringwraith mocked.

"No, but I believe it can delay you from reaching them!" Gandalf unsheathed his sword: Glamdring...and blue fire surrounded the blade of the sword.

While Gandalf held the wraith at bay, the group followed Merry towards the Brandywine river where there was a small boat just sitting there. And after a few adjustments, courtesy of Gray's ice magic, it was now big enough to hold all of them as they all began hurrying onto it. Well except a certain Dragon Slayer with a motion sickness problem.

"Well, I vote we just swim all the way there. Who's with me?"

"We're not swimming, Natsu, now just hurry and get on already!" Lucy told him.

"Wendy, I'm gonna need your Troia spell," Natsu said to the other Dragon Slayer, as he stepped onto the boat.

"Alright," Wendy replied, going over and casting her Troia spell onto the motion sick pyro.

"Yeah! Now I'm back!" a newly revived Natsu declared. "Thanks, Wendy," he told the Sky Maiden, as the group was now on their way to Bree.

* * *

**Yea-ah! Hope y'all enjoy this chapter. Read &amp; Review! Next chapter is when they arrive in Bree. ^_^ And for Game2002, I went back and fixed those Natsu parts you mentioned. I hope it seems better for you, and I apologize for not realizing that before you pointed it out. So, thanks! ^_^**


	5. Chapter 5 Chance Encounters at Bree

**Sorry to keep y'all waiting, but here's the next chapter. YAY! *confetti cannons go off* And for those of you who wanted Erza to have an appearance, you'll be in for a big surprise in this chapter. ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I believe that's pretty much clear by now. ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 5 Chance Encounters at Bree**

It took the boat 3 days to reach Bree, when they finally did it was raining quite hard as they approached the gate and knocked. A gatekeeper let them in after confirming they weren't a threat. They reached the inn known as the Prancing Pony, the first level held a large smoke-filled tavern run by a rather fat man called Butterbur. Frodo approached the bar and tugged on the man's sleeve. "What can I do for you...mister...?"

"Underhill...my name is Underhill." Frodo lied, using the name Gandalf suggested.

"We were to meet Gandalf the wizard here...?" Frodo said.

"Tall fellow, big beard, pointy hat?" Butterbur asked, Frodo confirmed this with a relieved look and a nod.

"Haven't seen him in over three months." Butterbur said.

"Huh? But I thought we only saw him about two days ago, or somethin'," a confused Natsu pointed out.

"It was three days ago, Natsu," Lucy corrected him.

"Even so, we probably still could have arrived here ahead of him," Carla pointed out matter-of-factly.

"I hope you're right, Carla," Wendy replied.

A man wearing a green hood turned to his companion at a table in the corner, "I don't suppose those are your companions you were looking for?" Strider asked her.

The young woman, who was wearing a scarlet red cloak that concealed the armor she wore underneath it and a hood of the same color as her cloak concealing her face as well as her vibrant scarlet red hair -her reasons being she apparently wanted to have the element of surprise when she was ready to reveal herself- glanced over at the group that just walked in. "Yes, that would be them," she replied. "Let us hope they don't go stirring up any trouble here, though." _Especially Natsu,_ she added as an afterthought, knowing the pink haired pyro was usually the one who went around stirring up trouble the most, though Gray was no exception to that either. She also happened to notice her team was receiving a few stares due to the way they stood out because of their unnatural hair colors, as well as the way they dressed too.

"That guy in the corner has been staring at our table for a while now..." Sam said to his travelling companions. Merry staggered to the table holding a large pint of beer, "Pee-pin! Ya gotta-*hic*-try thish!" Merry said to Gray, so drunk he couldn't tell the difference...or didn't care, whether Gray was taller and vastly different looking than Pippin.

Gray only rolled his eyes in irritation at that. "And I thought Cana was a heavy drinker," he sarcastically remarked in reference to Fairy Tail's heaviest drinker and card magic user, doing his best to ignore Merry as well as shoving him over towards where Pippin was.

"That woman is no exception either," Lucy said in reply to Sam's comment.

Frodo blinked as he heard the name 'Frodo' being said loudly, he turned and saw Pippin bragging about him to a bunch of half-buzzed strangers. Frodo rushed over to stop him and accidentally tripped, causing the ring to slip on his finger and render him invisible for all the tavern to see.

Strider rushed in and dragged the invisible Frodo up the stairs to the room he and the Scarlet Knight were renting. Sam leaped out of his seat and raced after them.

"Your companion isn't the brightest is he?" The hooded man said as he closed the door behind him and Frodo yanked off the ring. "Who are you!?" Frodo demanded.

"It's a good thing Natsu isn't that much of an idiot," Gray commented to his team, in reference to Pippin freely and carelessly running his big mouth about Frodo while they were outside the Shire.

The Scarlet Knight then took that as her cue, and casually strolled over to them. "Well, it looks as though I have finally found you. Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Carla." She suddenly looked around and saw that two were missing. "Where are Natsu and Happy?"

"Hold on a minute, how do you know our names?" Gray suddenly asked her, a bit surprised and confused that some strange woman would even know who they are.

"I would have thought that was obvious, Gray Fullbuster," the woman smirked knowingly from under her hood as she used his full name.

Gray suddenly looked at her in recognition, but it was Lucy who spoke next. "No way! Erza?"

Erza nodded. "Now I'll ask again, where are Natsu and Happy?"

"Um, I think Natsu said something about that guy who apparently 'captured' Frodo, as he put it, and went to go 'rescue' him, again as he put it," Wendy told her.

"And it would appear that Happy may have gone with him as well," Carla added.

Erza sighed. "And here I thought he wouldn't go stirring up trouble for once, but it would appear that I may have been wrong. Well, we'd better go stop him incase he ends up causing any real damage."

"Hold on, aren't you even gonna tell us how you ended up here as well?" Gray suddenly asked her.

Yes I will, after we retrieve Natsu and Happy," Erza told him.

Her team then followed her upstairs without question, not wanting to argue with the 'Great Erza' as Happy would usually refer to her as. Though Lucy first went over and began firmly reprimanding Pippin about loosely talking about Frodo like that outside the Shire when he should have been keeping his mouth shut, before returning to join her team again.

"Natsu it's alright! He's the one Gandalf told us to meet!" Frodo said, trying to calm the pink-haired boy down. Strider cast his hood off to reveal a brown haired man who appeared to be far too handsome to be one of the legendary rangers. "They'll be coming soon...they've sensed you wearing the ring...they know you're here." Strider warned.

"Wait, so you're just gonna let him get away with hobbitnapping you like that?!" Natsu demanded angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Strider. "I'll show this jerk what happens when he messes with Fairy Tail!" His fists were ignited with his flames, as he declared that he was all fired up.

"That's enough, Natsu. Strider is not our enemy," a firm voice spoke from the doorway, a voice that Natsu was all too familiar with which suddenly made him freeze in his tracks in pure terror.

"And why is it that you keep forgetting that your magic has been prohibited, you pyro?" Gray added. "Or is it that you're just forgetting on purpose?"

"I know that voice," Natsu managed to say a bit weakly, turning to see none other than the famed Titania herself along with the rest of his team and the other three hobbits as well, though he chose to ignore Gray's comment. "Erza!"

Erza smirked and pulled back her own hood. "Hello to you too, Natsu," she told him. "And Happy."

"Huh? Aaaahhhh! It really is the Great Erza!" Happy freaked out, as she had accidently startled him by mistake which she ended up apologizing for.

Natsu then ran up to her, giving her a bit of a staredown -much like the one Frodo gave to Gandalf when the team had first met them, but way more intense- before suddenly declaring: "I want you to fight me!"

It was enough to make Lucy freak out. "You can't be serious, Natsu! You'll both end up destroying the place if you go all-out like that! And this isn't the guild hall, you know?!" Even the hobbits were surprised with Natsu's reaction, despite not being familiar with the redhead themselves or Natsu's sudden declaration to challenge her like that.

"Lucy's right, Natsu," Erza said. "As much as I would gladly accept your challenge, we don't really have the time for that right now."

"No, we don't. They're already coming." Strider said...just as horrible screeching noises met their ears from outside. "Wait, I thought Gandalf took care of them!" Sam cried out worriedly. "They cannot be killed, technically they are already dead. What we see are their spirits given physical form by their master."

Merry and Pippin peered out the window into the night fearfully as two of the dark riders rode throughout the town, searching for them and ruthlessly cutting down anyone in their path.

"What are they...?" Frodo asked quietly.

"They were once great kings of men...but they were offered cursed rings of power by Sauron...and one by one fell into darkness under his control. They are called the Nazgul." Strider answered.

While Strider was explaining to the group about the Nazgul, Erza had decided to take the time to introduce herself to the four hobbits so that they could become acquainted with her as they had her teammates.

"So in other words, they would be considered undead? That's kind of creepy," Lucy commented.

"Yeah, no kidding," Gray agreed.

"Wow Lucy, you read too many books," Happy pointed out.

"Shut it, cat!" Lucy told him.

"You know what else is creepy?" Natsu suddenly asked, popping up beside her. "_The curse of the moon~_," he whispered in an eerily creepy voice right next to the Celestial wizard's ear, and pointing to the moon while attempting to do an impression of the village chief from Galuna Island.

Lucy's scream of terror nearly would have alerted the Nazgul to their presence had Gray not been nearby to quickly put his hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

"Not funny, Natsu!" Lucy whispered, and Lucy-Kicking him across the room.

"Can you please not do that again, Natsu?" Wendy quietly spoke up from where she was sitting next to Frodo.

"Indeed, now's not the time for such childish jokes," Erza sternly reprimanded the pyro.

"So Erza, we're all still curious as to how you ended up here in Middle Earth. You still plan on telling us?" Gray then asked after a while.

"Right, I suppose I should do that now," Erza replied, as she then began to tell them. "I had actually just gotten back to the guild from completing an S-class quest that same day, when Master Makarov informed me of what had happened involving the strange job request you guys picked up from off the request board that somehow brought you all here. Then when I went over to pick up that same request, it did the same with me as well and sent me here."

"And that was when I soon came across her shortly after that," Strider added in. "Though she assumed I had something to do with the disappearance of her friends at first, and she summoned a sword and attacked me demanding I return her friends immediately. And believe me when I say she is quite a force to be reckoned with when she's like that."

"Aye! That's the Great Erza or ya!" Happy stated knowingly.

"Happy, don't interrupt," Lucy sternly told him.

Strider nodded and continued, telling how Gandalf then showed up and intervened and begun telling them that he was sending a group from the Shire to meet him at the Prancing Pony inn in Bree and also mentioning to Erza that her friends were part of that group along with four hobbits. And that Gandalf had also told the two of them that they were to meet up with them there if he was somehow unable to make it himself. Team Natsu and the hobbits all listened with interest as Erza explained her story, with Strider adding in his parts as well. He was also grateful to Erza for not going all-out, otherwise who knows how bad things would have ended then.

"And that's my story," Erza concluded. "By the way, Gray, why did you say that Natsu's magic was prohibited earlier?" She sighed in slight annoyance. "Is there something I should know about? What did he destroy this time?"

"Well, it's not that," Gray replied hesitantly.

"He and Wendy are also not allowed to discuss Igneel and Grandina for as long as we're here in Middle Earth either," Lucy added. "Um, can we explain that later, though?"

"I see," Erza replied, nodding in reply to Lucy's question as she somehow had a feeling as to why. "I think I can understand the reasoning there, and so I won't continue to question the matter further."

The next morning, Strider led them out of Bree and as he put it: 'into the wild'. Pippin was starting to rummage around in their packs for food. "We just had breakfast." Strider said. "We've had one yes, what about Second Breakfast?" Pippin answered.

Strider merely turned back around and began leading them again. Merry patted Pippin on the shoulder, "I don't think any of them know about Second Breakfast, Pip." Merry explained.

Pippin seemed horrified, "What about Elevensies? Afternoon Tea? Brunch? How do any of them survive without-" An apple launched its way into Pippin's hand...from Strider.

The Fairy Tail wizards all stood gaping with open mouths at that list of mealtimes that Pippin had named off.

"Wow, even Natsu doesn't eat _that_ much," Happy commented with a fish in his mouth.

"I wonder if that's just a hobbit thing," Wendy pointed out.

"Must be, considering it's all new to us," Gray replied.

"Come on guys, quit torturing me already when I haven't even had breakfast at all," Natsu moaned hungrily as his stomach was growling loudly, which was drawing attention to pretty much everyone in the group.

"Well it's your own fault for trying to sleep in, so quit your complaining," Erza sternly told him.

"So you're just gonna let me starve to death all day? How could you be so cruel, Erza?" Natsu whined dramatically.

"Really? Grow up already, Natsu," Gray told him.

"Yeah, you don't hear me complaining even though I had to put up with your loud monstrous snoring all night long," Lucy added.

Sam sighed and pulled out a couple of large drumsticks from his pack, "Here, Natsu! You can cook them with your magic, right?" He handed the large turkey appendages to Natsu. "Where'd you get those!?" Pippin demanded. "Mr. Butterbur gave them to me, he also gave me a couple packs of various spices and herbs to use in our cooking."

"Thanks, you're a real lifesaver, Sam," Natsu mumbled with his mouth full to the ginger haired hobbit, after roasting the drumsticks with his flames.

"Oh good grief, at least swallow before talking Natsu," Lucy muttered.

Strider stopped in front of a large hill adorned with ancient ruins of a fortress from a long ago age. "We'll make camp here." Strider said as they climbed the hill, When they reached the top...they found a large mark made out of blue flame...floating in the air. "Gandalf was here..." Strider said.

Natsu and Wendy then began sniffing the air with their dragon senses to confirm what Strider said about Gandalf being here.

"It's a bit faint, but I'm still pickin' up traces of the old man's scent," Natsu informed them.

"Yeah, me too," Wendy agreed.

"So that means he must have already come through this way, right?" Lucy asked.

"It would appear that's the case," Erza replied.

Strider touched the ground which bear footprints of Gandalf...and nine others. "The Nine black riders were here...judging by these markings and the amount of scorched earth...Gandalf fought them all...at the same time. The footprints leading away indicate some of them fled...but."

The Fairy Tail group all looked increasingly surprised at how powerful Gandalf was at fighting off the riders, if their dumbstruck expressions were anything to go by. Natsu and Wendy also continued to use their dragon senses to help out by sniffing the air for more of Gandalf's lingering scent, when Natsu suddenly paused. "Holy crap, I just realized something!"

"Is it another scent?" Happy asked him.

"Gramps is probably even more powerful than Gildarts, which means I wanna fight him if we ever run into him again!" Natsu now had a cocky grin on his face as he was now fired up and eager for a new challenge. Unfortunately, it only made Happy suddenly freak out and begin frantically exclaiming that Natsu would automatically lose that fight considering how he could never even win against Gildarts back at the guild.

"And plus, I thought you were still mad at him for prohibiting your magic," Gray added.

"Shut up, Ice Princess! Would you quit reminding me of that already?!" Natsu snapped at him.

The horrible screeches of the Ringwraiths were soon all around them, five of the hooded beings crept out of the shadows and surrounded the party on all sides. Sam, Merry and Pippin stood protectively in front of Frodo, drawing their small swords as the tall black wraiths held their own cursed blades...ready to strike.

Of the hobbits, Sam showed the most bravery when they crept closer: "Back you devils!" Sam shouted, his voice betrayed his fear, but he clashed blades with the nearest Wraith before he was thrown aside.

Erza had requipped into her Adamantine Armor and began fighting off the Wraiths, despite this new sense of fear she suddenly felt washing over her as the Wraiths began their approach, as well as helping the hobbits in defending Frodo. Natsu and Gray found themselves back to back, simultaneously throwing out different spells of fire -Natsu was secretly using his magic tool from Edolas that he somehow still had with him since their time in Edolas since his real magic was still prohibited- and ice-make, and Gray even decided to use a bit of his Ice Demon Slayer magic as well. Lucy held up one of her Gate Keys to summon one of her spirits to help out.

"Open! Gate of the Lion: Loke!" she called out as Loke, or Leo -as was his original Zodiac name- appeared before her. She also pulled out her Fleuve d'étoiles whip to help out as well.

And lastly, Wendy was doing her best to help fight the Wraiths off as best she could and also using her support magic to help the four hobbits out.

Natsu suddenly noticed one of the Wraiths advancing towards Frodo and, for once without using his flames, and jumping between Frodo and the Wraith as he delivered a regular magic-less punch in the face to the foul creature. Unfortunately he only succeeded in angering the Wraith as it suddenly kicked at him and sending him flying back against the wall as though the pyro wasn't ever worth wasting his time over, as it then continued its advance towards Frodo.

The wraiths seemed particularly vulnerable to Natsu's fire, Gray's Demon Slayer magic, and Loke/Leo's magic. The Wraiths were caught aflame by the pure magic and a torch wielded by Strider. One last Wraith remained on the hill, and Strider threw the torch into its hood...it fled off the edge of Weathertop shrieking in pain. Sam was heard yelling for help, kneeling and holding a fallen Frodo's hand.

Frodo's eyes had turned a milky color, and he was spasming on the ground and foam was coming from his mouth. "What's wrong with him!?" Sam demanded tearfully as he squeezed Frodo's hand.

Strider lifted Frodo and pulled his shirt away to reveal a wound penetrating the hobbit's shoulder. He picked up a dagger from the ground beside the small man and the blade turned to dust. "He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade...a weapon that poisons its victims...if we do not find help soon...he will fall into darkness."

The Fairy Tail group could only watch with expressions of concern and worry, until Natsu suddenly spoke up with an idea in mind.

"Wendy's got healing magic, so can't she try to heal him?" he suggested, as he was helped back to his feet by Erza after receiving that blow from the Wraith which he was still really ticked about since he was only trying to keep it from going for Frodo and preventing this from even happening to begin with. Though all of Team Natsu now understood why the Wraiths were so feared throughout Middle Earth to begin with, as they truly were the most terrifying creatures in Middle Earth.

The Sky Maiden suddenly looked uncertain as to whether or not her healing magic would have any effect on such a wound, as she somehow sensed it to be tainted with too much evil for her sky magic to even work properly. "Um...well...I guess I could try. No, I will give it my best!" she said determinedly as she then went over and knelt by Frodo to begin her healing magic.

Frodo slowly began to stop shaking, and looked somewhat peaceful as he slowly fell unconscious. A soft voice said from behind the Fairy Tail group, "You've not stopped the poison, you've merely delayed its effects." The hobbits and Strider would turn to see a dark haired woman with pointy ears and a soft glow about her. "I didn't expect to see you here, Arwen." Strider said. "Who is she?" Merry asked Erza...Sam answered: "She's...an elf." he said in awe.

Wendy felt relieved that she was able to help even if her healing magic wasn't able to heal him completely, and even Sam was grateful that she had at least done her best. Meanwhile, Lucy had become completely starstruck when Sam had mentioned Arwen being an elf and she openly declared that Arwen was, in her own words, 'as gorgeous as Mirajane, or perhaps even more so than that'. In short, Lucy now understood why the ginger haired hobbit was so awestruck by wanting to see the elves. Erza, too, found herself awed by the elf-woman's beauty. And even Natsu and Gray were just as dumbfounded, as they too now understood Sam's keen interest in elves.

Arwen knelt by Frodo and Strider beside her, "We must get him to my father...he can heal him fully." She turned to Wendy and smiled slightly, "You've done well to stave off the poison, Thank you." Arwen called out something in Elvish, and five horses galloped into their midst, one for Lucy and Wendy, one for Gray, one for Erza, and one for Strider and one for Arwen...who was currently restraining Frodo to her steed.

"We'll have to have the hobbits share saddles with some of us." Strider said.

"And Happy, you'll be carrying Natsu," Erza told the blue Exceed, as she prepared to mount the horse given to her.

"Aye sir!" Happy replied while picking up Natsu and taking to the sky, but waiting for everyone else before taking off since he wouldn't know which way to go otherwise.

Lucy and Wendy, who smiled shyly in reply to Arwen thanking her, mounted their own horse as well, followed by Gray doing the same with the horse he was given. And Carla even volunteered to carry a hobbit, since Wendy and Lucy were riding together.

As they road and flew across the land, the Nazgul riders converged from behind them and chased them through the woods. Arwen led them across a stream and the black riders gathered on the other side. "Give up the halfing, she-elf!" The leader of the black riders demanded.

Arwen glared as she placed a hand on Frodo protectively, "Come claim him, then!" She challenged. The riders screeched and began to make their way towards them. "What are we going to do!?" Sam cried out, afraid.

Suddenly the familiar voice of Gandalf began to echo from up-stream. Gandalf's voice grew louder and louder until the sound of rushing water met their ears...a large flood taking the shape of galloping stallions charged the riders...and washed both them and their horses away.

Lucy also decided to help out as well, as she got down from her horse and got out another gate key. "Open! Gate of the Waterbearer: Aquarius!" And of course, Aquarius was obviously less than pleased at where she had been summoned. "Ok Aquarius, I need your help getting rid of these Black Riders."

"Tsk!" Aquarius replied angrily while glaring at her.

"I don't have time to deal with your attitude! I'm asking you to help get rid of these creeps once and for all already?! So do your thing, Aquarius!"

"Tsk! I don't need to take orders from you!" Aquarius then used her power to increase the flood Gandalf had created in order to help wash the Nazgul and their steeds away, as well as purposely washing Lucy away along with them as the Celestial wizard was now screaming frantically at her in protest.

"Listen, you had better watch where you summon me next time! Got it?" Aquarius threatened her afterwards.

"Y-Yes ma'am, u-understood," a now washed up Lucy replied, pulling herself up off the ground after Aquarius' attack. Strider, the hobbits, Arwen, and even Gandalf were surprised that the Celestial spirit would even wash away her own wizard along with the Nazgul.

"And you better not think of summoning me again for a while, since you just interrupted my date with Scorpio! Though I'm not surprised to see you still don't have a boyfriend yet," she added smugly just to rub it in her wizard's face.

"Yeah sure, rub it in why don't you?" Lucy shot back, as Aquarius then closed her own gate to return to the Celestial Spirit world.

Arwen led them through some more trees...until she stopped and the group's eyes were met with an enormous valley with rolling hills covered in green and waterfalls that foamed and flowed throughout the valley.

* * *

**SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Sowwies, I'z just a bit hyper right now. ^_^ Anywho, again thanks to TehZach1993 for the help with keeping this story going. Read and review, tell me what ya think.**


	6. Chapter 6 part 1 Arrival at Rivendell

**Ok so this chapter is gonna be divided into two parts: the first part for when the first arrive in Rivendell, involving Frodo's healing, as well as the Fairy Tail wizards exploring the grounds of Rivendell a bit; while the second part involves the Council of Elrond. And again, thanks to TehZach1993 for the help in keeping this story going. :)**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 6 part 1 Arrival at Rivendell**

Built atop one of the hills was an enormous home carved out of the most gorgeous wood. Arwen leaped off her horse as a tall man with ornate robes and long dark hair approached. "Father, we must hurry he does not have much time." Arwen said.

"Lay him down here." The man ordered as Strider and Arwen obeyed. Opening the hyperventilating hobbit's shirt, the man lay his hand upon the wound and began chanting in Elvish before a long black mist seeped out of the wound and disappeared. Frodo seemed to be calm now, and his eyes had returned to their normal color.

He was asleep now, and the man had two more elves carry the small hobbit inside. "Is he going to be alright?" Merry asked tearfully. "Your friend is fine now, he just shall need some rest." He turned to the rest of the group: "You have had a long journey, I am Lord Elrond, Arwen is my daughter. This place is called Rivendell. I assume you are all hungry and tired, so I shall ask you to join myself and two people whom you may be familiar with, for dinner."

Watching Elrond heal Frodo had suddenly made Wendy wish her own magic was stronger as she now felt her healing magic was limited compared to that of Elrond's, while she now felt as though she had hardly done anything at all after her attempt at healing the ringbearer hobbit.

"Stop fretting over it already, child," Carla gently reprimanded her. "You did your best, and that's what counts. And you heard what Elrond said, Frodo is going to be just fine now."

"I know, but I still wish I could have been able to do more," Wendy replied. "If I were as strong as Natsu and the others, I would have been able to be of more use to them. And not to mention I'd be able to be more use in being able to help heal Frodo faster."

"Now stop that!" Carla firmly told her. "You even heard what Arwen said back there. While you may not have been able to fully heal him, you were at least able to delay the poisons effects before we arrived here. Were it not for your efforts, Frodo might not have had any chance of surviving until then."

"You're right, Carla," Wendy said, as she was now wiping at her tears. "And I'm glad Elrond-san was able to fully heal him when all I could do was only delay it for a while." She then smiled slightly, trying to put on a brave face.

"Now that's the spirit," Carla replied, smiling back in return. "I'm sure Frodo would rather see you happy like this when finally wakes, than seeing you fretting over whether or not you're as strong as Natsu and the others."

"I know," Wendy replied. "You're right, I'm not going to continue worrying over it anymore." With that said, she decided she would go walk around and explore Rivendell.

Meanwhile, Natsu had managed to corner Gandalf to confront him. "Yo, gramps!" he called out, skidding to a halt in front of the old wizard. "What gives? I thought ya said you'd meet us at the Dancing Phony! Did ya just up and forget about us or somethin'?! About Frodo! And then all of the sudden you show up outta the blue like that when you coulda been there before Frodo was injured! Talk about bad timing there!"

"Uh Natsu, I think you mean 'Prancing Pony'," Happy corrected him about the name of the inn.

Gandalf frowned and whacked Natsu on the head with his staff. "I fought the Nine on Weathertop, and got more than half of them to follow me! I did what I could to keep Frodo and your friends safe by drawing some of the stronger Wraiths away! I had met Erza and Strider at the Inn shortly before you arrived, "I knew you were in good hands with the two of them."

"Besides," Gandalf huffed, "I thought you had more confidence in yourself and your friends than that! I trusted you all to keep Frodo safe, and you have. Your friend Wendy did more than she knows..." Gandalf said.

"Yeah, I already know Erza's the strongest female wizard in our guild! And that Wendy's also just as powerful with her healing magic!" Natsu yelled furiously. "But that still doesn't mean that Frodo wasn't still counting on you as well! And not to mention how was I supposed to even fully help out if I couldn't even use my magic! Let's face it, gramps, I'm about as useless as a Vulcan when using a sword."

"Aye, but Vulcan's are strong enough without having to use a sword, Natsu," Happy reminded him. "And how would you even know when you've never even used a sword before to begin with?"

"But it would probably still be useless with a s...Gah! That's totally not the point here, Happy!" Natsu exclaimed to the blue Exceed out of pure frustration.

Gandalf sighed. "I'm not even going to question what a 'vulcan' is at the moment. But there was a reason as to why I specifically instructed you not to use your magic, Natsu, and it was only to ensure that you refrained from going all-out by using your full power. I was not in any way trying to completely prohibit your use of magic, but you do need to learn restraint when using it."

"But what's that got to do with protecting Frodo?" Natsu protested.

Gandalf could clearly tell that the boy was frustrated with this whole situation involving the use of his magic. "Before I answer that, allow me to tell you a story. Just a bit of Middle Earth's history involving wizards going 'all-out' as you would put it, and using their full power, and perhaps then I hope you will have a better understanding of why magic cannot be used recklessly. And it's important your friends know this as well. That includes you as well, Happy," he added to the blue Exceed.

"Aye sir!" Happy replied.

They then went and found Gray and Erza sparring out in the courtyard -apparently Gray had wanted to learn how to fight using a sword as well as relying on his magic, and had gone and asked Erza who gladly agreed to help him with that, though that didn't stop her from being super strict as she had then requipped a sword from her inventory for him to practice with, as well as because he felt it might also persuade Natsu to want to do the same as well. They suddenly noticed Gandalf approaching as the old wizard told them that he had some things to discuss with all of them, and also inquired as to where Lucy, Wendy, and Carla were as well.

Gray thought for a moment before responding. "Last I saw Wendy and Carla, they were still sitting outside Frodo's room, and Wendy seemed a bit down. Though I'm not sure if that's where they still are or not. Not sure about where Lucy is though."

"I think she said something about wanting to see if there was a library here or something here," Erza pointed out. "Something about wanting to learn about the histories of Middle Earth, I believe."

Gandalf nodded. "Then we shall proceed there once we go to collect Wendy and Carla," he informed them.

Meanwhile, Wendy and Carla were now exploring the grounds outside and admiring the beauty of Rivendell.

"Wow, it's just all so beautiful here!" Wendy exclaimed in awe, as she now understood why Sam was always so fascinated with elves.

"Yes, and so peaceful after having to deal with those awful wraiths," Carla added, shuddering.

That was when the rest of their team, along with Gandalf, came across them and Gandalf explained that he needed to have a private word with all of them then proceeded to Rivendell's library where Lucy was -the Celestial wizard was nearly startled by their sudden appearance, though she obliged when Gandalf had explained that he needed to explain some things to all of them about using magic recklessly and the consequences that come with it.

"You mean like wrecking towns and losing reward money for my rent? Yeah, I think we pretty much get that," Lucy said dryly.

"And of course, you still obsess over rent money," Happy teased.

"Shut it, cat!" Lucy told him.

"What I'm about to tell you goes beyond even that, Lucy Heartfilia," Gandalf told her, enough to make her freak out. Though he still gave her a light whack on the head with his staff, but not as hard as the whack Natsu received, for trying to argue her point.

"Wait! You're kidding!" she exclaimed frantically, while rubbing at her head.

"Lucy," Erza said sternly, before nodding at Gandalf to continue.

Gandalf nodded and began to explain to them about the First Age of Middle Earth when wizards used to go all-out against the first Dark Lord known as Morgoth, and of how using their full power had nearly destroyed Middle Earth at the time.

"If that's what you were worried about, then ya shoulda said somethin' earlier," Natsu stated once the old wizard had finished explaining. "Ya don't gotta worry, gramps, 'cause we don't even plan on destroying an entire world like that. Whether it's Middle Earth, or Fiore for that matter. Right guys?" He looked over at his friends for a reply, only to end up receiving another whack on the head from Gandalf's staff.

"That was NOT meant for you to make light of, Natsu Dragneel!" Gandalf firmly reprimanded him. "It was meant to teach you about showing restraint when using your magic, and not using it so recklessly! Gray Fullbuster and Erza Scarlet, I assume you two are just as guilty when going all-out as well."

"Well, I won't try to deny it," Erza admitted sheepishly. "There are times when I too tend to go overboard in a fight."

Gray, however, only muttered something about not being as bad as Natsu until a whack on the head from Gandalf's staff convinced him to admit otherwise.

"And another thing," Gandalf added. "I suggest you also keep that stripping habit of yours under control as well, Gray. Starting now, it would appear."

"Huh? Aw crap, when did that happen?!" Gray exclaimed, realizing that he was in his underwear.

That being said, Gandalf then took his leave of them, leaving the Fairy Tail wizards to ponder over what he had just explained to them.

* * *

Frodo would soon be awake by dinner, and they all shared a meal at the long table as Elrond's guests. Later Bilbo would take them back to his room where his book lay on a table next to a quill in an ink bottle.

"I would like you to have something, Frodo. A few somethings in fact." Bilbo said as he opened a chest and revealed a small hobbit-sized sword in a scabbard. "I hardly have any use for Sting anymore...I've had my adventures." Bilbo said with a hint of sadness, "It's your turn now, Frodo." Frodo took the sword and examined the blade, "Be careful...it's still sharp. And the blade will glow blue when orcs or goblins are close." Bilbo said.

"Thank you, Bilbo..." Frodo said, overcome with awe before Bilbo held up a shirt of mail that seemed to be made out of shiny metal rings. "Mithril. It's light as a feather, and as hard as a dragon's hide. It's practically impenetrable to normal blades."

"Cool," Natsu commented to the two hobbits, grinning as he had heard the word dragon mentioned, though he didn't really understand what mithril was.

Lucy, meanwhile, found herself suddenly drawn to Bilbo's book. She was tempted to pick it up and read it, though she felt she shouldn't do so without asking permission first. She knew better than that. But she was soon unable to control the urge as she ended up going ahead and reading it anyway, hoping the old hobbit wouldn't mind if she did.

Erza, Gray, and Wendy also had their curiosity piqued by the many things Bilbo had from his adventures, and even Happy and Carla were deeply intrigued as well.

"Go on ahead, Lucy. It's not finished yet, so don't blame me if you are left hanging." Bilbo said to Lucy as Frodo went to put the shirt of mithril mail on...the ring dangled from the chain around his neck...for all to see. "Oh...th-the ring!" Bilbo seemed startled to see it, and meekly reached out to touch it..."I would...like to hold it just once more." When Frodo covered the ring up by buttoning his shirt, Bilbo seemed to reach violently for it...before realizing what he had done.

Bilbo seemed horrified at the look on everyone's faces and slumped down onto the bed nearby. "I-I'm sorry Frodo...I'm sorry that you're in this mess...because of me..." Bilbo was starting to cry before he soon felt Frodo's hand on his shoulder and said through his sobs: "I'm sorr-ry for everythi-ing!"

The Fairy Tail wizards suddenly felt bad for the old hobbit after what he's been through all because of the stupid ring. Bilbo's reaction to seeing it again nearly caused Lucy to jump out of her skin as she was reading, and Wendy squeaked in fear. Natsu and Gray were slightly startled, though being boys they didn't tend to show it as much. While Happy and Carla were just as equally fearful.

Erza then went over and placed a comforting hand on his other shoulder. "I'm sure nobody here blames you for any of that," she gently reassured him. "I know Frodo doesn't." She nodded towards Frodo as she said that. Though she was also thinking of Jellal, and how he too still continues to blame himself for his own past mistakes. "Though it was slightly different in Jellal's case," she suddenly found herself musing her thoughts out loud by accident.

Natsu tilted his head in confusion. "I'm not exactly sure what Jellal has to do with any of this."

"She loooooooooves him!" Happy said.

"Honestly tomcat, I hardly think that comment is necessary at a time like this," Carla reprimanded the blue Exceed. "Even if you were referring to Erza and Jellal with it, don't just go making unnecessary comments like that in this sort of situation."

Erza blinked from her thoughts. "Right, sorry, I didn't realize I had said that out loud," she confessed, though she chose to ignore Happy's comment as Carla had already reprimanded him for it.

"Actually, going off of Erza's thought of Jellal, it just made me think of how Loke used to always blame himself for being indirectly responsible for the death of his previous key-holder, Karen," Lucy added. "But since becoming contracted with me as his wizard, he's actually gotten over it."

Gray smirked coolly from across the room. "Yeah, Loke's been doin' pretty ok for himself now as Lucy's spirit. But I think the point she was trying to make there was that we all still have things we tend to beat ourselves up over sometimes."

"What? You still beatin' yourself up over your teacher sacrificing herself to seal Deliora, or something?" Natsu asked somewhat snarkily.

"Shut up, Natsu! And you know I'm already way over that!" Gray told him, though he wouldn't ever admit that he did still have a slight fear of Deliora despite that all being in the past.


	7. Chapter 6 part 2 The Council of Elrond

**Part 2 of chapter 6. Enjoy! ^_^ Oh yeah and I probably should mention this before I forget, but due to how far I've gotten in the Fairy Tail manga now I've decide I'm gonna move up the arc from where I first had it set after just to avoid any confusion.**

**Disclaimer: Must I continue to explain this?**

* * *

**Chapter 6 part 2 The Council of Elrond, and a bit of Fairy Chaos**

Gandalf led them into a study in one of the carven oak halls of Elrond's house. The dark haired, pointy eared noble poured glasses of wine for Erza and Gray, while Natsu and Lucy stood by Strider...who was staring at a pedestal with a broken sword in pieces.

"Frodo the hobbit has shown extraordinary resilience so far to the Ring's evil..." Elrond mused; Gandalf sighed and sipped his goblet of wine. "We can ask no more of Frodo Baggins, he's done well to get this far." Gandalf looked to the horizon as Elrond frowned, "Gandalf, the Ring cannot stay here...my people are leaving Middle Earth for other shores...and from what you tell us Saruman has betrayed us."

"It is worse than we feared," Gandalf turned to Erza and Gray, two of the more calm-headed individuals in Team Natsu in Gandalf's opinion. "Saruman has begun breeding a new breed of orc by crossing goblins and men. Saruman is creating Sauron's army as we speak."

Elrond nearly choked on his wine, "This is insanity, the ring cannot stay in Rivendell! We do not have the strength to overcome the power of Mordor AND Isengard!"

The Fairy Tail wizards had been silently watching and listening, until Erza stepped in to say something before this could get out of hand.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume you wish to have something done about it immediately, am I right?" the Titania pointed out simply. She also noticed Gray had clenched his fists at the mention of Saruman, and had to assume the ice wizard must have had some sort of encounter with him somewhere.

"And for his sake, he better not have gone and found a way to our world as well to mess with our guild," Gray muttered, which thankfully went unnoticed by Elrond and Gandalf.

Erza blinked. So that was what happened, she thought, though she figured she would have to ask the ice wizard about that later.

* * *

Meanwhile in the chamber, Strider was currently fighting off questioning stares from Happy and Carla and Natsu. "Hey are you...related to this guy?" Happy pointed to a painting of Isildur.

Strider sighed, "Yes...I am Isildur's heir...I suppose I took the name Strider and abandoned the royal lineage due to the uhm...pressure and expectations." Strider gazed across the way to the shattered sword, and the beautiful Arwen...which he obviously had intimate feelings for.

"WHAA-!" Happy exclaimed in complete shock, while Natsu was just as dumbstruck standing there gaping at Strider. Carla was taken by surprise as well at Strider's revelation, though she was a bit more refined about it than Natsu and Happy were.

"Whoa! No way, man, I never would have guessed!" Natsu exclaimed, still completely dumbstruck.

"Yeah, somehow I don't think you would have been able to guess all of that anyway, Natsu," Lucy told him, though she was just as equally as shocked as he was. "But still, that is a bit of shocker there." Of course she didn't want to pry into it, so instead she just kept her comments to herself for the time being. Even Wendy didn't want to seem rude by asking too many questions about it.

* * *

Elrond sighed, "Who must we turn to? If not the hobbits? The dwarves? They hide in their holes...mining riches and caring nothing for the troubles of the world. My people are leaving for the Grey Havens...that leaves no one but-"

Gandalf interrupted, "It is in the world of men...we must turn. The heir of Isildur still lives..." Elrond scoffed as they saw a man with a wooden shield and wearing expensive furs rode in on a horse. "Men? Men are weak...I was there Gandalf...4,000 years ago...when Isildur took the ring for himself...I was there when mankind failed."

"Hold on a minute. That seems a bit selfish, don't you think?" Gray suddenly blurted out.

"Gray," Erza reprimanded.

"Sorry, but judging people like that all because of one guy's mistake just doesn't sit well with me," Gray stated bluntly.

Erza sighed. "Excuse us for just one moment," she said to Elrond, before dragging Gray off to the other end of the room where she began reprimanding him for that outburst. "This isn't our world, Gray, so we really have no right to question what goes on here or the events that occurred in the past here. Got that?"

"Well yeah, but...I-I mean, yes ma'am!" Gray quickly amended after she shot him a stern look, not wanting to argue it out any further now for fear of invoking the wrath of Titania -or get whacked on the head with Gandalf's staff.

"Good," Erza sternly told him.

* * *

Strider nodded, "My true name is Aragorn...nice to finally properly introduce myself." He bowed slightly.

Lucy politely inclined her head in reply. "Nice to officially meet you."

"Man, that's kinda similar to Mystogan back in our world," Natsu suddenly stated.

"Yeah, but it was slightly different with Mystogan remember?" Wendy pointed out to him. "Because he ended up turning out to be the Edolas counterpart of Jellal, which was why he went always went by Mystogan as a member of Fairy Tail."

"But it's still at least a bit similar, though, with the whole going by a different name thing," Natsu protested.

* * *

Elrond frowned at Gray's outburst, before sighing. "It matters not, the fate of this world has already been decided...the time of the Elves is over...it is time for the other races of Middle Earth...to shape our future." Elrond's eyebrow twitched at the sound of a loud boarish laugh eliciting from a short wide-shouldered man with a bushy beard down below in the courtyard.

Erza and Gray had rejoined the conversation at that moment, and Gray ended up apologizing to Elrond for his rude outburst.

"Sorry, I was outta line there," the ice wizard apologized. "I spoke out when I should have just kept my mouth shut, and my comments to myself. But I promise it won't happen again."

Gandalf then whacked him on the head with his staff. "See to it that you remember that next time, Gray Fullbuster," he said sternly, before whacking him again. "And what did I say about keeping that habit of yours under control?"

"Geez, what the heck, old m...Not again!" Gray exclaimed, looking down to realize he was in his underwear again.

Gandalf then whacked him a third time. "And another to ensure you remember not to talk back to your elders. You and Natsu both need to learn that."

Elrond sighed. "Indeed, that kind of intolerance is not tolerated within Rivendell," he agreed, before going back to the original topic of discussion. "We know that the Ring must be destroyed, but our entire world shares this burden...for if Sauron prevails then we shall all suffer. So it is only right that emissaries from all races here...hobbits, dwarves, elves and men...and since you have been so kind as to help us...we have invited you and your friends as well to join this council." Elrond said.

"We must decide...who is to carry the ring and bear its evil weight to Mt. Doom...who shall be able to resist its pull and throw it into the lava to destroy it forever." Gandalf said frowning.

"We'd be honored to be a part of this council," Erza said in reply to Elrond.

"And hopefully dragon breath will finally be convinced that his flames won't even be powerful enough to burn it," Gray added.

"Though it probably would be amusing to let him try," Erza added as an afterthought.

* * *

Aragorn meanwhile, was speaking to Arwen...in a very romantic way...while Natsu and Happy spied on them with Lucy and Wendy in the background with Carla.

"He loooooooooooves her!" Happy said, his paws over his mouth to stifle his giggling while Natsu was also snickering at the scene.

"Oh, honestly!" Carla huffed near Lucy and Wendy. "Must they behave so immaturely?" She was referring to Natsu and Happy, of course, with that statement.

* * *

Soon there was a grand dinner prepared in the feast hall for Rivendell's many guests. Bilbo spotted Gloin, the latter of which embraced Bilbo and practically picked him off the floor in a bear hug. "Bilbo! I haven't seen you in ages, laddie! How've you been? Finally ventured out of Bag-End again, eh? Off on another adventure?" Gloin put the laughing hobbit down. Bilbo brushed himself off with a chuckle and clapped his hand on Frodo's shoulder and gestured to Team Natsu. "Frodo, everyone...this is Gloin. He was one of the group who I originally assisted with the Erebor quest with Smaug and all that."

Gloin yanked Gimli, who had snatched a turkey leg and was currently feasting on it, in to show him off. "This is my son: Gimli! Remember me telling you all about Bilbo, Gimli?! You were so enthralled with him and the Quest for Erebor as a child!"

Gimli's eyes boggled, "My father talks often of you Mr. Baggins, I have waited a long time to meet you."

The Fairy Tail wizards then stepped forward and each introduced themselves to the two dwarves that Bilbo was acquainted with.

"Hi, I'm Lucy Heartfilia," Lucy said to Gloin and Gimli. "And, before you ask, it's kind of a long story, but my friends and I aren't really from Middle Earth."

"We're wizards from...well, from another dimension," Erza stated hesitantly, as she was unsure of how to go about explaining it. "I'm Erza Scarlet. Or if you so choose, you may also refer to me as Titania or the Scarlet Knight."

"Oh yeah, thanks for remindin' me!" Natsu suddenly said. "Hey Erza, I've been meaning to ask about how you became known as the Scarlet Knight here."

"Oh, that," Erza replied. "You mean it wasn't obvious?" She motioned towards her armor that she was currently wearing, which was just her regular Hearts Kreuz armor.

"Right, I get it, because of how most knights usually wear armor," Gray said. "And the 'Scarlet' part isn't that hard to figure out." He was referring to her last name as well as her scarlet hair, of course.

The others all then introduced themselves to Gloin and Gimli as well: "Natsu Dragneel." "Happy." "Gray Fullbuster." "Wendy Marvell." "Carla."

They were also introduced to Legolas, who was the son of Thranduil the Wood Elf King who Lucy read about in Bilbo's still unfinished book. Eventually large trays and dishes of food were brought out to the long table and the feast began. Soon everyone had eaten and drank their fill and later that night they all gathered around a round stone table to begin the council.

Elrond introduced everyone here: Boromir from Gondor, Aragorn or Strider as he was often called, Frodo Baggins, Gandalf the Grey, Legolas of Mirkwood. Elrond spoke: "We now know the reason we are all here: Half of Sauron's consciousness lies within this Ring." Elrond had Frodo bring the ring and place it in the center of the table, the small hobbit sat down next to Happy and Erza...he kept staring at the thing.

After the ring had been set down on the pedestal, that's when it began reaching out into the minds of everyone that was present with tempting thoughts. The members of Team Natsu were no exception, as it decided to start with one of the weaker more vulnerable minds first. **_Happy the Exceed_**_, _Sauron's voice whispered to him from within the ring.

Happy blinked. "Huh? Aaaaaaaahhhhh! Erza, save me! There's a scary voice in my head using telepathy on me!" he screamed in pure terror, as he was clinging to the Titania for dear life.

Erza sighed. "Happy, stop it. You're causing a scene." She grabbed him by the tail to pull him off of her, as everyone had indeed begun staring at them.

_**Happy**, _the voice from the ring continued to whisper. **_I can guarantee you a lifetime supply of fish, all you have to do is go up and take it._**

_Fish? _Happy thought, but then quickly shook his head to clear it of all temptation. _No, I must be strong. Must resist... _Suddenly his imagination began to run wild, as the ring had somehow become a juicy fish right in front of him, enough to make him sigh dreamily and start drooling. "Mmm...fish..."

"For goodness sake, Happy, you stop that foolish daydreaming at once! You're being disruptive!" Carla firmly reprimanded him, just as she suddenly heard something whispering to her as well. **_Carla the Exceed, use my power and I can give you complete control over your visions._**She suddenly froze in pure terror as she suddenly saw what looked like a huge eye that was wreathed in flames, as she was now trembling in fear at the very sight of it.

"Carla, are you alright?" Wendy asked her. Just then, she suddenly heard a voice whispering to her as well that suddenly made her squeak in fear. **_And you, Sky Dragon Wendy Marvell, you lack confidence in yourself and your abilities. But the power to overcome that is sitting right before you. _**Wendy allowed her gaze to drift towards the ring before suddenly shaking that thought from her mind. _No, I couldn't. It just wouldn't be right, _she fought back. **_Foolish little girl, it is the only way you will become stronger. The power to do so is just right there, all you have to do is go up and take it. _**_NO! _Wendy mentally screamed back. _I won't succumb to dark temptations that easily! You can't make me! **We shall see now, won't we? **_the voice said in a way that was mocking her for resisting. **_You and your friends can't resist forever, I will succeed in breaking all of you other-worldly wizards. You may be only a child, Sky Maiden, but even children break eventually. _**_Don't count on it! We're all a lot stronger than you think we are! _The voice in her head gave a cruel chuckle at that. **_Again, we shall see._**

Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Natsu were all suddenly hearing the same voice in their own heads as well. **_Lady Lucy Heartfilia, _**the voice said, using her full title as a Heartfilia. **_Your desire is to always be able to pay your rent on time. I can give you a lifetime supply of money, perhaps even enough money for you to move back into the mansion you grew up in. _**_No! I ran away from that life because I wanted nothing to do with it, or the way my dad always used his money to try to control me! Sure it would be nice to always have enough money to be able to continue to pay my rent on time for an entire lifetime. But as I once told my dad when I went to confront him after Phantom Lord attacked our guild, money can buy anything BUT happiness! **You're quite a stubborn one with that sharp tongue of yours, **_the voice chuckled. **_But has it ever occurred to you that your father may have been doing you a favor that day? And yet a lady of your status is still choosing to be a part of that guild of ruffians when you could go back to living like a princess. _**_Because I love being a part of Fairy Tail, and I love all of my friends there! What more could I ever ask for than that? _The voice chuckled again, knowing it wouldn't give up until it succeeded in finally breaking her, in breaking all of them. It moved on to the next target.

**_Erza Scarlet, the girl who was taken from her home as a child to be forced to work as a slave in the Tower of Heaven. _**Erza looked suddenly startled as the voice had entered her head, as well as how it knew all that about her. **_You were unable to save your precious friend back then, weren't you? _**_Jellal... **Yes, he was an easy target for the darkness to prey on and he gave in to his hatred of those who kept him a slave and succumbed to darkness quite quickly. If only you were strong enough to save him then, and you all would have been able to escape together. **No, stop it! Jellal is no longer under Zeref's influence! He's not like that anymore! **Even so, your friends here right now are all about to give in to their temptations. I can give you all the power you need to prevent that from happening. Act quickly, one of your friends here has a dark side of his own that I think will be the easiest to persuade. **_Erza suddenly looked shocked. _Not Gray! You leave him alone! True he may have a bit of a dark side to him, but his will is still strong enough to resist any form of darkness! **We shall see about that. There is one thing that will succeed in making him break, and the ice boy himself knows it. If you wish to save him in time, to save all of your friends in time, there is only one option. Surrender your will to me and use my power, only then can you protect your friends from succumbing to their dark temptations. **_Erza found herself gazing towards the ring, then at each of her friends. Was it really true? Were they already giving in to their dark temptations? No, she couldn't allow herself to assume that. The voice had to be coming from the ring toying with her mind to get her to think that, perhaps her friends were only still trying to fight back against it. Then again, she knew Gray's strong desire to destroy the demon END could prove to be a problem there. But she also knew that he also had a strong will to resist as well. **_What will you do, Titania? Will you stand by helplessly as your friends begin to turn on each other for power and be powerless to protect them in time, like how you were powerless to save Jellal from giving in to his darkness? _**_No, stop it! **Only you yourself can stop it, you need only to take the power for yourself. Only then will you be strong enough to save all of them.**_

Natsu, meanwhile, was also having his own inner mind-battle with the whispering voice from the ring as well. **_Natsu Dragneel, the Salamander of Fairy Tail. You desire to see your father, the Fire Dragon King Igneel again, I can bestow upon you all the power you need to reunite with him. _**_Thanks, but you probably didn't know that Igneel was killed fighting against Acnologia. _The voice chuckled in his mind. **_Foolish boy, Igneel still lives. _**Natsu suddenly had a look of shock and surprise on his face. _But how? I watched it happen. Igneel died. **Why not find out yourself after you both are reunited? I can make that happen, all you have to do is take it for yourself.**_

**_Gray Fullbuster, _**the voice then spoke to the ice wizard next. Gray blinked. _Wha-? **You've got quite a dark past, don't you? A past involving a certain demon that killed both of your parents...you know of the demon I'm speaking of. **_Gray suddenly looked fearful at that. _Deliora...But I no longer have to fear him, because Ur gave her life by using Iced Shell to seal him away. **Yes, an act caused by your own foolishness to go out and challenge the demon when it was way beyond your power to defeat- **Look, whoever you are, I don't need anyone reminding me of the past! So just shut up and get outta my head already! **What if I could offer you power, enough to destroy another demon that you've been searching for? A demon you know as END. **_Gray suddenly became interested for only a split second, before suddenly shaking the thought from his mind. _You're right, I will destroy END. But if I succumb to darkness by doing so, I wouldn't be able to face my dad. Funny how I also said that exact same thing to the members of Avatar as well. **Oh how sweet...doing what dear old daddy tells you, are we? I didn't realize that ice boy was such a daddy's little boy. **_Gray glared as the voice in his head was now mocking him. _You know what? You don't know anything about me, so shut up! And I hate when people call me 'ice boy'! _The voice chuckled. **_Oh I've been learning all I can about you and your friends ever since you first landed in Middle Earth. Act on your dark side, ice boy, and accept the power I am offering. It is the only way you will ever be able to defeat END. _**_Stop. Calling. Me. Ice boy! _Gray suddenly lashed out against the voice, unleashing a blast of ice that sent the ring flying from the pedestal as his way of trying to resist. All eyes were suddenly upon him now, looking suspicious of his disruptive action. Though his friends were all looking at him with concern and worry. "I'm sorry, I just...I need a moment," Gray said coolly, as he then just got up and left.

* * *

Gandalf, out of concern, got up and followed him. "Would you care to explain what that was about?" he asked after he had caught up with the ice wizard.

Gray spun around, startled that the old wizard had caught up to him so quickly. "It's nothing," he lied.

"I hardly believe that whatever happened there was just 'nothing', as you put it," Gandalf told him. "So indulge me."

"Look, it's not like you would understand anyway! So what's the point?" Gray shot back.

But Gandalf could clearly tell that something was upsetting him to the point of completely breaking down, so he pressed the matter further. "Tell me anyway," he replied calmly.

"I just think you would all be better off without me here," Gray stated simply, though Gandalf pressed him to elaborate on that.

"And just why would think that of yourself?" Though the old wizard had a pretty good idea as to why the ice wizard would just come out and say something like that, since he knew this wasn't like him at all to go and doubt himself like that during the time Gandalf had gotten to know him since coming across him and his friends back in the Shire.

"I...well...it's complicated," Gray hesitantly started to say, though Gandalf nodded to urge him to go on. Gray sighed. "I've got a dark side, alright!" he shouted, finally reaching his breaking point as he just broke down sobbing uncontrollably as he was also trembling in fear, not caring at the moment if every elf in Rivendell heard him right now. "And the thought of acting out on it and doing something rash that would betray my friends...it just...it terrifies me! There I said it! Happy now?!"

"There now, was that so hard?" Gandalf reached out and pulled the distraught boy towards him for an embrace, and running a hand through his dark spiky hair, allowing him his shoulder to cry on. The scene was almost like that of a grandfather consoling and comforting his grandson. "I won't ask you to elaborate on it further, but listen to me Gray, nobody is going to judge you for having this dark side. I know your friends don't. And it's alright to admit things that are troubling you like this, instead of always trying to avoid it all together. The same applies to Natsu as well. And Gray, there is nothing wrong with having a dark side, as there are lots of others of the race of Men who do as well. But what's important is that you also have a strong will to resist the temptations of that dark side. Speaking of which, your friends were also worried at the way you walked out like this. And I noticed that they were also feeling the ring's effects pulling at their minds as well, as I assume it was also doing to you. Such is the power of the One Ring."

"Yeah, I understand," Gray replied, sniffling a bit as he was attempting to wipe away more tears that were continuing to spill out. "Man, I must seem pretty pathetic now."

"Not at all," Gandalf told him, before sighing. "Take a moment if you must to get it all out, and then we can return to see what we may have missed back at the council."

* * *

Once Gray was calmed down enough, they then rejoined the council and Gandalf apologized to Elrond for Gray's emotional outburst, and Erza decided to fill them both in on what they missed as well as telling Gray of the big announcement shocker of Strider's identity that he missed out on hearing which she was still surprised about herself.

"Wait, seriously?" Gray queried in surprise, glancing over at Strider -or Aragorn, as was his actual name now.

"I was quite taken by surprise as well," Erza admitted to him, as they both turned their attention back to focusing on the discussion on what to do with the ring. Erza decided she could wait til later to ask Gray about that little fiasco he just caused, and nobody else bothered to question it either.

"Then what are we waiting for!?" Gimli shot off from beside Gray and pulled out an axe...bringing it smashing down upon the ring...there was a flash and Gimli's weapon shattered into pieces as the ring seemed to gleam in the sunlight as Gimli fell on his back astonished. "The ring cannot be destroyed by any craft that we here possess. It must be carried into Mordor and cast into the fires of Mt. Doom. One of you...must do this." Elrond said.

"Hey, wait a minute! I wanna have a shot at destroying it too!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "If it's flames ya want, then that's my specialty." His teammates all deadpanned at his sudden outburst, while Gandalf was getting the sudden urge to whack him over the head again. "Take this! Fire Dragon ROOOOOOAAAAR!" Everyone stared as a huge jet of flames burst from his mouth and straight towards the ring, which still remained unaffected much to Natsu's dismay, though now the elves and dwarves present began whispering amongst themselves and casting suspicious and wary glances over at the pink haired boy. "Aw man, I really thought that would work!" Natsu complained.

"What is he?" "Dragon-spawn of Smaug, no doubt." "Or perhaps he's Smaug reincarnated, taking the form of this strange other-wordly pink haired boy, and has come back for vengeance." And even Elrond had asked "What is the meaning of this outrage?!"

"That idiot! What was he thinking?" Gray muttered.

Erza was shocked to hear what was being said about her firebreathing teammate, and thought perhaps this was what Gray had meant when Gandalf had prohibited his use of magic here in Middle Earth. Natsu's magic was just too dragon-like, and although she had to admit that she hardly knew anything about this 'Smaug', somehow these people have had a bad history involving dragons and she soon had a feeling that Natsu was about to react badly to what was being said about him.

Natsu's entire body was soon engulfed in flames, as he knew there was only one thing he could do now. "My name is Natsu Dragneel, son of the Fire Dragon King Igneel, and a proud member of the Fairy Tail wizard guild! And I'm here to prove to you all that not all dragons are as bad they're made out to be!"

"Natsu, that's enough! You need to calm down!" Lucy said, going over to throw her arms around him to try to calm his raging temper. "This is really not a good impression you should be making here."

Gandalf had also gone over and whacked the pyro on the head multiple times with his staff. "Foolish boy, what did I just tell you about that?!" He then turned to address the council. "I can assure you all that Natsu is no threat to the Free Peoples of Middle Earth, as he is a very useful ally against Sauron, and he WILL be exercising restraint at all times if I have anything to say about it. So rest assured there will be absolutely NO destruction that will render him no better than Smaug was."

"Gee gramps, you make it sound like I'm some half-crazed pyromaniac bent on nothing but destruction," Natsu mumbled, until he suddenly received another whacked on the head. "I-I mean, aye sir!"

That being settled, Gandalf practically dragged Natsu back to his seat while Lucy also went back to her seat once her friend was finally calmed down allowing the council to resume its course again, as Elrond had once again explained that the ring could only be destroyed by being cast into the fires of Mount Doom.

Boromir was the first to speak up after that: "One does not simply walk into Mordor...its black gates are guarded by more than just Orcs...there is evil there that does not sleep. And the Great Eye is ever watchful. Tis a barren wasteland, riddled with fire...and ash and dust...the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume."

Boromir shifted in his seat, "Not with 10,000 men could you do this...it is folly."

"Even so, you heard what he said," Erza spoke up. "It's a job that must be done, despite whatever temptations we all might be feeling. And when we Fairy Tail wizards-" here, she gestured towards her team. "-begin any sort of quest, we always make it our job to see it through to the very end."

"Yeah, you tell that jerk, Erza!" Natsu declared, earning a stern look from the Titania that immediately made him shut up after that.

Natsu's outburst lit the flame for an uproar when soon everyone started arguing and Gimli cried out that he would rather die than see the Ring fall into Elf hands. Apparently there was some bad blood between dwarves and elves here. Gandalf closed his eyes and sighed however...when Frodo's voice raised above all the others and said: "I will take it! I will take the Ring to Mordor!" As the group turned, Frodo meekly said: "T-though I do not know the way..."

Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Happy, and Carla had remained a bit more calm and levelheaded during the whole argument, though Gray was now wanting to punch Natsu in the face for that sudden outburst he made while Lucy muttered something along the lines of "Leave it to Natsu to go and start an uproar." Followed by Happy's "Aye! That's Natsu for ya." They watched in astonishment as Frodo had decided to speak up and say that he would take it, though not at all surprised that it would be him.

Carla nodded approvingly. "Good job, stepping in like that," she told the hobbit, as she herself was beginning to get fed up with this petty arguing especially with this feud between the elves and dwarves, and would have shouted for everyone to be quiet had Frodo not spoken up in time. And she was glad he did.

Gandalf nodded as the group spoke up: "I will help you bear this burden Frodo Baggins." Gandalf stepped behind Frodo to offer his support. "You have my blade, Frodo." Aragorn did the same. "And my bow!" Legolas said

"And my axe!" Gimli said gruffly, Boromir nodded and stepped up as well, though he didn't seem to understand how a hobbit could be the ring-bearer.

As one, Team Natsu also stepped forward to present their assistance to Frodo well. "And you also have Fairy Tail's strongest team to help you along the way as well," Erza said, requipping a sword into her hand and presenting it in a similar manner as Aragorn had though a bit more dramatically.

"You can totally count on me and my spirits to be there for you," Lucy added, holding out her Celestial Spirit gate keys.

"You don't gotta ask me twice," Gray stated coolly, ice forming in the palm of his hand to show that he was also in. And surprisingly his clothes were still on for once.

Natsu was no exception either, as he eagerly ignited a flame in each hand. "Oh yeah! I'm all fired up now!" He also glanced over at Boromir, suddenly feeling bad about his little outburst that started the whole uproar to begin with. "Sorry about that, even though I was only agreeing with Erza about how we always see our jobs through to the very end. So I guess that makes me the real jerk here." Erza was nodding approvingly at his apology. "So, no hard feelings?" he added.

"I suppose I'm willing to look passed it," Boromir replied. "Just so long as there is also a chance to tame the wild dragon within you."

"Yeah, that's kinda pushin' it a bit, don't ya think?" WHACK! "I mean, aye!" Natsu quickly amended as he was now seen rubbing a rather large bump on his head, courtesy of Gandalf's staff.

Wendy timidly spoke up next, stepping towards Frodo. "And my healing and support magic may also be of use as well."

And Carla surprised everyone -except that of her team- by taking on a more human appearance, with the exception that she still had her cat ears and tail. "And I will be there alongside her, helping out as well."

Which now left Happy, as the blue Exceed didn't know what to present for himself. "Um, you also have my...uh...fish?" He held out a fish that he had been planning on eating later. Well, at least he tried, right?

"Oh for goodness sake, Happy, we already know you're included!" Carla told him, making him perk up at that. "Aye!" he declared in reply.

"Wait! Wait! Mr. Frodo ain't going nowhere without me!"

"Or Us!"

Sam, Merry and Pippin rushed over and Elrond sighed, "It is very hard to keep any of you seperated, especially when he was invited to a secret meeting and you three were not..."

"Oooh! ...So where are we going?"

"Geez, get a clue already. Even Natsu's not that much of an idiot," Gray said in reply to Pippin, though he hadn't meant to say it so harshly.

"Hey, great timing guys," Natsu eagerly greeted the three other hobbits. "The team just won't be the same without ya with us."

* * *

**Ok, so next chapter is when they start to head out from Rivendell. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well as the one before it. ^_^**


	8. Chapter 7 The Journey Begins

**WOOHOO! Sorry to keep y'all waiting, but here's the moment you've all been waiting for. The next chapter when the journey begins as they're now departing from Rivendell. And I seriously couldn't resist having a little fun with this chapter before I get into the action that takes place in Moria. I hope y'all enjoy this fun chapter. I know I had fun writing it out. :p**

**Disclaimer: I think it's obvious that I still don't own anything, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this story now would I?**

* * *

**Chapter 7 The Journey Begins**

The next day, the newly formed Fellowship got an early start in making preparations for the long journey they had ahead of them. Team Natsu each ended up being equipped with weapons so they were not always constantly relying on their magic, although Natsu still kept the sword Gandalf had given him when they were still just leaving the Shire. He was now beginning to have a better attitude towards wanting to learn to use a sword, even with Gray's smug "I told you so's" always being constantly rubbed in his face about it as well. And Gray, too, was also given his own sword to use as well. Lucy's weapon she chose to use was a bow and arrows, though she knew she may have to ask Legolas to teach her how to use it since she really had no idea how to use a bow. Or if not him, she could always resort to learning from Sagittarius instead. Wendy had a sword that was much like the ones the hobbits have, much to Carla's disapproval of it though she eventually relented after a while of arguing it out with the Sky Dragon. Happy and Carla each had a small dagger that was just their size as well, while Erza politely declined saying that she had plenty of swords _and_ armor in her requip storage.

The Fellowship was now prepared to depart as they began making their way out of Rivendell, with Frodo leading the way nervously. "Gandalf...which way is Mordor?" Frodo asked the wizard behind him quietly.

"Left." Gandalf said back. They made their way across hills and valleys, finally coming to rest on a small hilltop and making camp. "We could go through the mines of Moria, Gandalf...my cousin Balin would give us a royal welcome." Gimli suggested, puffing on a small pipe.

"I will not enter those mines..." Gandalf said eerily.

Natsu, Lucy, and Gray began to wonder just what it was about these mines Gimli had mentioned that seemed to make the old wizard nervous about entering them, though they were unsure of whether they should ask or not incase the old wizard ended up whacking them on the head for even daring to ask about it.

Erza, meanwhile, could be seen with Boromir, sparring with Merry and Pippin to help better their skills with a sword. Legolas had unexpectedly pulled Natsu aside to ask questions about if it was true about how he was raised by a dragon, Gimli joining in as well.

"Yeah, of course it's true," Natsu was explaining to them, though he was remembering to at least try to keep his temper under control. "The Fire Dragon Igneel's my dad. But hey, if ya feel like hatin' me for bein' the son of a dragon then go right ahead. But just so ya know, Wendy was also raised by a dragon too."

This seemed to surprise both the elf and dwarf, considering the blue haired girl was a lot more sweet and gentle compared to the hotheaded pink haired pyro. And not to mention she said she had healing magic, something they knew all dragons were incapable of possessing.

"The little girl?" Gimli questioned with a look of disbelief, though he was probably just as surprised as Legolas at hearing that. "Now that's something I find hard to believe."

"Actually that's also true too as well," Wendy spoke up from behind Natsu, and nearly scaring the life out of him by accident. "Sorry, Natsu," she apologized to him.

"Geez Wendy, you trying to scare me to death or what?" Natsu said, slightly teasingly.

Gray couldn't resist snickering at that. "Nice reaction there, though, dragon breath. You really should have seen your face."

"What was that, Ice Princess?! I dare ya to say that to my face!" Natsu challenged.

"Natsu, Gray!" Erza said sternly, making the boys freeze in their tracks before a fight could start up. "Since you both seem to have free time fighting one another, why don't come over and join the sparring circle?"

"Sure, got nothin' better to do right now anyway," Gray replied, as he got out his sword and went over to join Erza, Boromir, Merry, and Pippin for sword practice.

Natsu, however, was a different story to that. "No way!" he muttered.

Erza turned her fierce glare upon him. "Come again?"

"I said no way, and ya can't make me!" Natsu stubbornly declared, giving the Titania a fierce defiant stare-down much to the surprise of the rest of the Fellowship -except that of his friends, of course. Natsu's stubborn hotheadedness really knew no bounds sometimes.

WHAM!

Erza had gone over and hit him over the head with the hilt of her sword before dragging him off by his scarf for sword practice, while Wendy had now begun telling Legolas and Gimli about her mother the Sky Dragon Grandina and how she was actually more of a kind and gentle dragon compared to the fiery-tempered hotheads. And unlike Igneel, or Smaug for that matter, Grandina was a dragon with healing magic and breathed air -"Um, no pun intended to that, of course," Wendy timidly covered up.- and not fire much to their surprise. Legolas had even commented that Middle Earth could use dragons of healing like Grandina around, to which Gimli gruffly added that it would put those greedy gold-loving firebreathing ones in their place -though Wendy was grateful Natsu hadn't heard that, otherwise who knows how he'd react to that considering Igneel was never gold-obsessed like that despite still having a hot temper.

"But doesn't everyone breathe air, though?" Happy commented as he snickered at the pun about breathing air, while Carla simply just rolled her eyes at him and muttered something incoherent about immature tomcats. "Wow, I think Natsu really is as useless as a Vulcan when using a sword," the blue Exceed suddenly commented, as Natsu was indeed just wildly swinging his sword around during their sword practice as well as trying to throw few flaming punches in as well which earned him punch in the face and a lot of reprimanding from Erza that he was strictly not allowed to use magic in this practice.

"Right, last I checked I don't seem to remember ever seeing a Vulcan even using a sword," Lucy sarcastically muttered to the blue Exceed, as she somehow found herself watching as well. She, Happy, and Carla had also been explaining to the Fellowship more about themselves and about where they were from as well, and about their guild as well. They also explained to them how wizard guilds functioned, as well as taking on job requests to earn money, and Lucy ended up mentioning the job request written in a foreign language -which was still back at the guild- that brought them to Middle Earth in the first place. Both Aragorn and Legolas were thinking this over carefully as they somehow assumed that this 'foreign language' they mentioned could have been written in Elvish, though they couldn't exactly be sure without actually seeing this job request for themselves to confirm it. They were soon interrupted by the sparring circle when Natsu and Gray suddenly began bickering with each other...again.

"Geez, would ya calm down already, you pyro? It's only practice," Gray said.

"No way, Frostbite! I gotta keep givin' it a hundred percent if I wanna have a chance at beating Erza in this fight!" Natsu shot back, as he continued to charge forward wildly at the Titania. "I've been waitin' forever for this challenge, so I ain't gonna hold back!"

"Yeah, but somehow I get the feeling you're gonna be the victim of another round of whack-a-mole sometime soon if you don't cut it out already," Gray told him, just as Gandalf had indeed suddenly came up and whacked Natsu on the head with his staff.

"Aw come on, gramps, you only said restraint when using magic. You never said anything about going all-out in a sword match," Natsu protested.

Gandalf whacked him again, and then proceeded to continue to repeatedly whacking him multiple times more. "Are you ever going to learn the meaning of the word restraint one of these days, Natsu Dragneel?! Even using a sword as recklessly as you have been demonstrating can end up causing major damage and destruction!"

"Yeah, like maybe just to a town or somethin', but not an entire world," Natsu mumbled irritably, rubbing at the rather large bump he now had growing out on his head.

"Aye, and restraint's not even in his vocabulary either," Happy stated knowingly.

"Well he had better have learned at least some restraint by the time this quest is finished!" Gandalf huffed, whacking Natsu on the head again before leaving them to continue with their sparring.

Though Natsu could now be seen rubbing at a rather large bump that was beginning to grow on top of his head after being whacked that many times. "Man, I think the only thing I'll end up with by the time this quest is over is major brain damage. And lots of it too," he grumbled.

"Well, gee, it serves you right for getting him after you like that," Lucy muttered from where she was sitting and watching, though she chose to ignore them after a while and had picked up her bow as she had decided to get a little training in herself as well. "Well, I guess I'm gonna get a little target practice in while I'm at it." She then pulled out one of her gate keys. "Open! Gate of the Archer: Sagittarius!" she called out, as a man wearing a horse costume appeared before her.

"What can I do for you, Lucy?" Sagittarius asked her.

"I was just hoping I could get a little archery practice since I don't really have anything better to do at the moment," Lucy replied, which the man-horse spirit obliged to help with that.

"Gee Lucy, here I thought you were gonna ask Legolas for help with that or something," Happy pointed out.

"Well, I was considering asking him too," Lucy admitted a bit sheepishly. "But I was just thinking of asking Sagittarius at the same time...and, well, I was kinda torn about who to ask first."

"I actually don't see why you can't have two teachers helping you," Legolas suggested.

"Well in that case then, I'm all fired up!" Lucy determinedly declared. "But not literally like Natsu, though," she quickly clarified. She then introduced Sagittarius -who had brought over a few targets from the Celestial World for his wizard to practice on- and Legolas to each other, as well as explaining to the elf that the man-horse archer was one of her Celestial Spirits, before beginning her archery practice. Sagittarius had gone and set up the targets, while Legolas was instructing her on how to properly hold a bow and notching an arrow to it before taking aim at one of the targets. Lucy paid close attention as she then did the same.

"Careful you don't miss the target, Lucy," Happy teased her, and actually causing her to accidently miss the target.

Lucy turned to glare at him. "You better shut it, stupid cat, unless _you_ wanna be the target!" she threatened, before grinning slyly when the blue Exceed suddenly freaked out and hid behind Carla who only rolled her eyes at his immature behavior as Lucy then went back to practicing with Legolas and Sagittarius helping her out.

Meanwhile, the sparring circle had somehow taken a different turn when Boromir had accidently cut Pippin's hand with his sword which resulted in both him and Merry wrestling the man to the ground as their way of getting payback for that. Erza had to hold Natsu back from wanting to join in -apparently the pyro thought that they had started some sort of brawl that he wanted to be in on as well- as she and Gray quickly got out of the way to avoid being caught up in it as well.

"Aww come on Erza, I wanna join 'em too!" Natsu protested as he was struggling to break free from her grasp.

"No way, Natsu!" Erza told him sternly. "We all know how rough you can get, and hobbits are smaller than us so you might end up hurting them by accident."

"But Erza, no I w-" before Natsu even had a chance to finish, Pippin suddenly grinned mischievously and whispered something to Merry and pretty soon both hobbits had reached over and pulled the pink haired boy's feet right out from underneath him and began laughing as he fell over backwards.

Even Gray couldn't resist snickering at that. "What's the matter, dragon breath? You just gonna let two hobbits get away with that?"

Natsu was suddenly back on his feet and cracking his knuckles while giving off a feral grin. "Alright, whose idea was it to start pullin' cheap shots like that?"

"Merry, quick, run before the dragon gets us!" Pippin yelped as he jumped to his feet, Merry quickly following suit, as they both soon took off running leaving Boromir to finally be able to pull himself up off the ground and watch with amusement as Natsu charged off after them.

"Oh, yeah? Bring it on, 'cause this dragon's all fired up!" Natsu challenged as he playfully chased Merry and Pippin around with some devious plan in mind to get back at them.

Meanwhile, Aragorn looked out into the sky and Sam tugged on Lucy's sleeve. "Miss Lucy? What is that?" he pointed to an ominous black swarm of dots coming closer and closer in the sky towards them.

Lucy suddenly looked up from her archery practice and over at where Sam was pointing. "Huh? I'm not sure," she admitted honestly.

"Rain clouds, maybe?" Happy suggested. "Maybe Juvia found some way to get here, and now she's here to stalk Gray because she loooooooooooooves him."

"Right, I somehow doubt it's Juvia's rain," Gray sarcastically told him.

Natsu suddenly paused and began sniffing at the air with his dragon senses. "Doesn't even smell like rain...or Juvia for that matter," he pointed out, just as Merry and Pippin suddenly took advantage of his moment of being distracted and jumped out at him attempting to pin him down to the ground as Merry had then declared that the dragon had now just been captured. "Yeah yeah, don't get too cocky you guys," Natsu dryly stated. "But next time I'm gonna be the winner here, and I ain't gonna be lettin' my guard down again next time either."

Before either Merry or Pippin had a chance to reply to that, that was when they heard the cawing of the Crebain...spies from Saruman...swirling around in a black cloud of feathers and red eyes. "Crebain! Spies of Saruman!" Legolas cried out.

"I guess this means archery practice is over for right now," Lucy said dryly. "Though somehow, I think I would have preferred Juvia's rain over evil black insects any day."

"Actually I think they look more like crows than insects," Carla pointed out to correct her on that.

Natsu and Gray both suddenly looked ready for a fight at the mention of Saruman, well Natsu ended up having to pull himself free from Merry and Pippin first before going into 'all fired up' mode.

Gandalf used his magic to destroy the crows...but two got away and flew into the distance.

"The White Wizard will know when they report to him what we are up to!" Boromir cried out.

"Then we must take the pass of the mountain Caradhras!" Gandalf gestured toward a snow covered mountain peak near their location.

Team Natsu all looked up at the snowy mountain as well.

"It looks like a Middle Earth version of Mt. Hakobe," Natsu commented. "I wonder if there are any Vulcans to beat up!" He eagerly ignited his hand on fire to show that he was all fired up, at least until Gandalf whacked him on the head with his staff and reprimanding him about recklessly going off to start a fight like that as well as also adding that Middle Earth didn't have any such creatures known as 'vulcans' much to Natsu's added dismay.

"You gotta be kidding me," Lucy mumbled. "And I'm not even dressed properly for sn-" She was suddenly cut off by something warm being wrapped around her neck...wait, something warm? Around her neck? She spun around only to see that is was just Natsu behind her...but there was something she noticed that was suddenly different about him. "Uh, Natsu? What happened to your scarf?"

"Gee, Lucy, what'd ya think I was doin' behind you?" Natsu pointed out, motioning towards his scarf that was now around her neck. Lucy looked down to see that she was indeed now wearing her friend's scarf, which came as a surprise to her considering how he would never let anyone have his scarf to borrow before. She smiled and nodded to him gratefully. "Thanks Natsu," she told him, and receiving his usual trademark grin in reply.

Boromir had been watching the scene between them and couldn't help adding a comment in there just to tease the two teenagers a bit. "So it would appear that the dragon can be tamed after all, so long as he has his princess alongside him."

"Great, way to kill the moment there," Natsu muttered. "Whoever heard of a dragon having a princess anyway?"

"Yeah? Then how come you're blushing, Natsu?" Happy asked him teasingly. "You loooooooooooooove Lucy!" he teased, as both Natsu and Lucy could now be seen sputtering protests at that.

Gandalf only sighed at the trio, as he then began to lead the Fellowship up the Caradhras.

* * *

**Well I hope this chapter was fun and entertaining for you, my readers/reviewers. Read and review, and next up is Caradhras. Lol! Who wants me to randomly have one of Team Natsu start singing Let It Go as the Fellowship is passing through Caradhras? It's a hilarious idea I just randomly came up with, so review to let me know if you want me to have someone from Team Natsu sing Let It Go. ^_^**


	9. Let It Go! On the Snows of Caradhras

**Hello again my good readers of this story, it is I the Great and Powerful Trixie!...Hehehe, not really. Anyway, ****I apologize again for keeping you waiting, but the next chapter is finally finished. YAY! *confetti cannons go off to celebrate* And I hope you all enjoy my Let It Go parody that I included as well. ;) And there's also another Disney reference in here as well, see if you can spot it and guess what movie it's from. I'll give you a hint, the character in this Disney movie who says this particular reference is named Mushu -but in this chapter, I have Happy saying it. ;) Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own any of the characters from Fairy Tail or LOTR.**

* * *

**Chapter 8 Let It Go! From the Snows of Caradhras to the Mines of Moria**

Gandalf was soon seen carving a path through the snow of Caradhras with his staff as they were making their way through a huge snowstorm in no time, with the hobbits clinging to Boromir and Natsu for warmth while Frodo was next to Aragorn. As the Fellowship was trudging along through the snow, Frodo suddenly stumbled and began tumbling backwards down the mountain until Aragorn caught him and helped him back to his feet. The Ringbearer then suddenly noticed that the ring was no longer hanging around his neck as he began frantically looking around for it. Natsu suddenly noticed Boromir reach down to pick up the gold chain that the ring hung from, and pretty soon all eyes were on the Man of Gondor as he appeared to be entranced by the ring's temptations.

"Give it back to him...," Natsu told him in a dangerously low voice that meant he was serious, a flame igniting his fist just incase he happened not to listen.

"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over such a little thing," Boromir said as he continued gazing at the ring while ignoring Natsu -which the pyro took great offense in as he was only trying to help get the man to return to his senses-, as he was completely mesmerized that he hardly heard Aragorn calling out to him.

"Boromir! Give the ring to Frodo."

Boromir seemed to return to his senses as he walked over and handed to ring to Frodo. "As you wish...I care not." Frodo then snatched the ring away from his and placed the chain back around his neck as Boromir then ruffles his hair before walking off, while Frodo stayed next to Aragorn.

Meanwhile, the Fairy Tail wizards were now all dressed warmly as they were continuing the seemingly long trek through the snows of Caradhras. Erza had requipped into something warmer and more suitable for cold weather, while Lucy summoned Virgo to ask for some warm winter coats from the Celestial World for her and Wendy to use to keep warm since wearing Natsu's scarf was only good with keeping her neck warm, as well as for any other members of the Fellowship who would like something warmer to wear too. And Gray, being an ice wizard, wasn't bothered by the cold and had taken to stripping his shirt off. Though it earned the ice wizard a few disapproving stares from the Fellowship -except for his friends, though he simply just shrugged it off and explained that it was just a habit he had due to the fact that stripping had been a part of his training in ice magic -though he also considered it to be a curse as a part of training with Ur as well. But the good thing was that at least he had only stripped his shirt off and not completely down to his underwear...or worse, nothing at all. And of course, Natsu kept warm by relying solely on his fire magic.

Gandalf then suddenly turned and whacked Gray on the head for stripping despite his immunity to the cold. "What did I say about that habit of yours, Gray Fullbuster?" he said sternly. "Even if being an ice wizard does make you immune to the cold, it is still indecent to be parading about like that. Must I continue to keep reminding you?" he huffed, as he then whacked him a second time just to make it clear.

"What the...? Aw crap, not again!" Gray exclaimed, realizing that he actually had gone and stripped to his underwear without even realizing it.

"Hehehe...at least it's not me being whacked this time," Natsu snickered.

"Shut up, Natsu!" Gray shot back, as he got his clothes back on. "And at least I'm not the one who gets whacked the most!"

"Enough!" Erza intervened, stepping between them and knocking their heads together to break up their fight.

Lucy, meanwhile, had suddenly become very bored as the Fellowship continued to trudge through the snow as she suddenly began humming quietly to herself as she walked along.

"Wow, it looks like the cold weather finally made Lucy snap," Happy teasingly commented to the rest of the Fellowship about the Celestial wizard suddenly bursting into song.

However, Lucy only rolled her eyes and ignored him as the song continued to come to her. _"The snow glows white on Caradhras tonight, not a footprint to be seen.~"_ Of course she nearly fumbled over trying to pronounce the name 'Caradhras', but she eventually got it after a while. _"We're walking through a blizzard, 'cause Gandalf seems so keen.~"_ The Fellowship were all suddenly giving her confused and blank looks as to why she would just start up singing all of the sudden, especially while they were still trudging along through this huge snowstorm no less. Though they couldn't deny that she did have a pretty good voice, which she would beg to differ saying that actually Mirajane back at the guild was actually a better singer -as well as her Celestial Spirit, Lyra the Harp Constellation whenever she sings.

Though Lucy just continued on with her song, just to keep herself from being too bored with hardly anything else to do, and paying the comments no mind at the moment. _"The wind is howling, snow is blowing all around. Wond'ring what to do, to keep from feeling down~"_

"Hey Luce, you bored or somethin'?" Natsu suddenly asked her out of curiosity.

"Yeah, more or less," Lucy replied, as she continued to make up more lyrics to her song. _"How 'bout a song, and soon you'll see. You won't be as bored as you seem to be. Let's try, right now, and then you'll know! Well here we go!~"_ she then took a big breath as she got to the chorus. _"Let it go! Let it go! On a quest to reach Mordor! Let it go! Let it go! We're caught in a huge snowstorm! And I don't care, what they're going to say~"_ She was suddenly cut off when Happy randomly decided to join in for some reason.

_"Let the storm rage on!~"_ the blue Exceed added in, followed by Natsu adding, _"The cold never bothered Gray anyway.~"_ much to the ice wizard's annoyance as he retaliated by punching the fire wizard in the face.

"Don't go relating it back to me like that, you pyro!" Gray told him, though both he and Natsu received a whack on the head from Gandalf's staff before a fight could start up between them as the old wizard firmly reprimanded them about needing to learn to get along better despite the fact that fire and ice don't mix. And Gray also ended up getting another whack for stripping again as he once again had to put his clothes back on, while Legolas couldn't help commenting on how the fire and ice difference was a bit similar to the feud between elves and dwarves though not nearly as bad considering the way Natsu and Gray fought and bickered was only as a way of acknowledging each other.

"Aye, and even Master Makarov said something like that one time too about how they only fight to acknowledge each other," Happy stated in reply to Legolas' comment. "But that's also why we have the Great Erza here as well incase it does start to get out of hand. And not to mention Gandalf's head-whacking-staff-of-doom to keep them in line as well," he added in reference to Gandalf's staff whacking Natsu's and Gray's heads like a game of whack-a-mole, or though in this case it would be considered whack-a-Fairy.

Meanwhile, Wendy timidly decided to continue Lucy's song though she was hardly heard over the blizzard since she started out so quiet. _"It's funny how we started,~"_ she began quietly, and a bit nervous. "_A simple job request, written in a foreign language, we couldn't read at all!~"_ though she became more confident and determined the more she got into it.

"Oh no now thanks to Lucy, Wendy's finally gone and lost it!" Happy shouted frantically.

Carla only sighed in annoyance. "Honestly, tomcat, no she hasn't so there's no need for that!" she huffed.

"Aye," Happy replied, downcast.

"_And now we're here in Middle Earth, on a quest to destroy a ring,~"_ Wendy continued on with her lyrics, putting a little more 'umph' into it now. _"Strange world, strange sights, new friends we've made! Unafraid! Let it go! Let it go! And I'm one with the wind and sky! Let it go! Let it go! You'll never see me cry! Here I stand, and here I'll stay! Let the storm rage on!~"_

Unfortunately, the song ended up being cut short after that when Legolas suddenly lightly stepped forward passed everyone to the edge of the mountainside and stared out into the blizzard. "There is a fell voice on the air!"

"Yeah you're right, maybe we really should change the line that says 'let the storm rage on' since none of us want that to actually happen anyway," Happy said.

"And you're clearly missing the point with that, Happy," Lucy sarcastically pointed out to him.

Suddenly they all heard Saruman's voice chanting in an unfamiliar language and the mountain began to crack and rumble. "It's SARUMAN!"

An avalanche was starting as lightning hit the peak and rained debris down upon them. "He's trying to bring down the mountain! Gandalf, we must turn back!" Aragorn shouted out against the howling blizzard.

"No!"

Natsu could now be seen cracking his knuckles at the mention of Saruman again before igniting his fists on fire. "Oh, yeah? I say bring him on, 'cause I'm all fired up! I'll burn him to a crisp in no time, and then I'm gonna kick his butt straight into Edolas where there's no magic!" he declared, only to earn a whack on the head from Gandalf's staff as the old wizard harshly reprimanded him for that kind of rash thinking.

Gandalf then stepped forward and began chanting something to counter Saruman's spell, which soon continued to be drowned out by Saruman chanting even louder which was followed by a crack of lightning hitting the top of the mountain above the Fellowship. "Anyone have an idea of how to dodge all that?" Lucy suggested when she saw that they were now about to be buried by falling snow, as she was now beginning to freak out.

"Ice-Make: Shield!" Gray said, quickly reacting in time by creating a shield made of ice above the group before glancing over at his friends and smirking as he decided to add in more song lyrics despite it being a bad moment for it now. _"My power flurries through the air into the ground, my soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around. And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast~"_

"Really, Gray? Now is hardly the time to be continuing that now," Erza told him, as she could also be seen helping out Natsu and Boromir to protect the hobbits.

Unfortunately Gray's ice shield suddenly didn't last long as it suddenly began to crack from the weight of the falling snow and debris that had begun to pile on top of it, although he continued to pour more magic power into it to keep it from collapsing down on everyone. "Aw crap!" the ice wizard suddenly exclaimed as everyone now found themselves being buried under the snow after the shield finally caved in on them.

A while later the Fellowship could soon be seen all popping back up out of the snow like daises -if growing daisies in the snow was even possible, which...oh wait, it wasn't-. Natsu was now seen punching his way to the surface with only one hand, while he held onto Happy with his other hand, before then reaching down to pull up Lucy who was now shivering violently from the cold despite still wearing his scarf and her warm coat from the Celestial World.

"Luce, you ok?" Natsu asked her.

Lucy just nodded as she was now shivering through her coat and Natsu's scarf. "J-J-J-Just a l-l-little c-cold n-now is all," she managed to say through chattering teeth and sniffling a bit from the cold, as Natsu pulled her towards him to share the warmth of his body heat, and she soon found herself nuzzling into him to try to keep warm.

Gray came up next pulling Wendy and Carla up with him, -the Sky Dragon Slayer was also close to freezing to death now as well despite her warm coat from the Celestial World, and not to mention her teeth were also chattering as she too was shivering violently from the cold as well.

"A-Achoo!" Wendy suddenly sneezed, sniffling as she began to feel a cold coming on. And it didn't really help much with the cold wind blowing her hair around, same with Lucy, as it only made both girls feel even colder here.

And last but not least, Erza soon pulled herself up out of the snow next. "Is everyone alright?" she called out, and receiving a few teeth-chattering 'ayes' in reply from the Fellowship, though Lucy and Wendy were both starting to come down with a cold now.

"Whoa! Did everyone just see that?" Happy suddenly exclaimed. "We popped out of the snow! Like daisies!"

"Although, begging your pardon Happy, but daisies wouldn't actually be able to survive in a place like this with this kind of weather," Sam, ever the gardening expert, pointed out in reply to the blue Exceed's sudden exclamation.

Meanwhile, Boromir could soon be heard saying something about how they should turn back and make for the Gap of Rohan which Aragorn disagreed with saying that it would take them too close to Isengard. And Gimli then suggested that they go under the mountain through the Mines of Moria, and causing Gandalf to pause and think for a moment as the old wizard somehow knew what awaited them should they enter the Mines.

"Let the Ringbearer decide," Gandalf finally said after a while, as all eyes were soon on Frodo. Even Team Natsu all had their eyes on the dark haired hobbit, and waiting for his decision.

Boromir shouted against the biting wind: "We cannot stay here! This will be the death of the Hobbits!" he could be seen holding a freezing Merry and Pippin close to him in an attempt to keep them warm.

"And Lucy and Wendy ain't doin' so good either!" Natsu added as he was also seen holding onto Lucy even more protectively with his arm around her, while Gray was still trying to keep Wendy warm with Erza helping a bit as well since Gray's ice magic wouldn't be of much use in keeping others warm the way Natsu's fire magic could.

Frodo was now seen looking around at each of his comrades -both the Fellowship and the members of Team Natsu, glancing from his fellow hobbits and then over to Lucy and Wendy, and he felt his heart go out to them when he saw how they were now shivering from the cold. They shouldn't have to suffer out here in this freezing cold weather like this...none of them should, he inwardly thought to himself, feeling sympathy for them, as he finally made his decision about where they should go. "We will go through the Mines," he announced to the rest of the Fellowship.

Gandalf looked over at them with flakes of snow decorating his beard and hat. Gandalf gazed out against the blizzard and spoke: "So be it...we make for Moria!"

As the Fellowship and Team Natsu began making their descent from Caradhras, Carla suddenly began to have a vision as her eyes suddenly became wide with fear. She suddenly had a bad feeling about what was about to happen once they entered Moria, as she also saw that one member of the Fellowship wouldn't make out of the Mines alive with the rest of the group. Altogether the vision frightened her as she began pondering over what she just saw and she had to wonder if there even was a way to prevent such a tragedy from happening. She continued to glance over at Gandalf, expressing both fear and worry over the fact that they might end up losing him soon, as the group continued onward to Moria.

* * *

**LOL! Natsu really likes to give Gandalf a hard time. And Gray with his really bad stripping habit. *sighs* What are we gonna do with those two boys, right? *smirks mischievously and suddenly takes Gandalf's staff and uses it to whack Natsu and Gray on the head, while grinning in satisfaction* Hehehe... Sooooooooooooo, were y'all able to guess the Disney reference that Happy says in here? I'm giving a shout out to the first person who guesses it correctly. ^_^ And as for Carla's vision, more of it will be revealed in the next chapter as they're just arriving at the Mines of Moria, and she also may end up telling Gandalf of what she saw in her vision as well. Anywho, until next chapter. ;) And sorry if I didn't finish my Let It Go parody for Team Natsu, but I just suddenly couldn't think of anymore parody lyrics to make up to add to it -hence why I ended up starting to drift back into the original lyrics after a while, but I hope iz still ok. :) Anywho, enjoy this chapter. Next up is the Mines of Moria, and the beginning of Team Natsu's nightmares and trauma. Poor them. :(**


	10. Chapter 9 part 1 Entering the Mines

**Hello, sorry to keep y'all waitin' on the next chapter like this but I wanted to get it just right before I post it. And the whole part involving the events in Moria ended up coming out pretty long, so I'm gonna be splitting it up into two parts so it doesn't look like I'm just dragging it out. So without further ado, presenting part one of the Fellowship's journey through the Mines of Moria and the beginning of Team Natsu's trauma. Hope ya enjoy it. ;) And I hope I did ok on writing out Carla's vision from the end of the last chapter when she suddenly has a vision, as they were just leaving the Caradhras, of the events that happen while they're journeying through Moria.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Fairy Tail or LOTR, as they belong to their respective authors and creators. And also in this chapter when I have Lucy summoning Lyra the Harp Constellation just to pass the time while Gandalf is figuring out the password to open the door to the mines, and also so the Fellowship wouldn't become too bored, I just wanted to point out that I don't own the two songs that I have Lyra singing. The first one being Mordred's Lullaby by Heather Dale, and the other is Country Road from Hayao Miyazaki's Whisper of the Heart.**

**And I'm also gonna start replying to Guest reviews in the author notes as well since I can't actually reply to you, and you all have some good reviews as well:**

**akitowolfblood: I've never really done a crossover pairing before, so I don't know how good your suggestion will turn out for Legolas to fall for Lucy and still have some NaLu in there too, but I'll give it my best. I won't be making it romantic though, because I'm not very good at writing romance, and besides Lucy's too naive for romance anyway. But I will give it my best for a NaLu love triangle with...and I'm not sure how you would say a Lucy shipping with Legolas...Legolucy? *shrugs* So a love triangle between NaLu and Legolucy (yeah that seems right, so that's what I'll call it ;), that still ends up being NaLu in the end. I will try to see what I can do. ^_^**

**And to any other Guest reviewers who keep asking me things like "What's taking so long?", you need to learn patience. I take my time because I want the chapter to be just right before I post it. So if you don't like how long I take on writing out the next chapter, then just don't read the story at all if you're just gonna be impatient with me. Seriously, it's annoying.**

**Anywho, onto the story now before I get too carried away here.**

* * *

**Chapter 9 part 1 Carla's Vision, and Entering the Mines**

_~In Carla's vision, she saw the Fellowship all inside what she assumed was the Mines of Moria being attacked by the most ugly-looking creatures that she had never even seen before -not even in Fiore. But what really disturbed her the most about it was the fact that she also saw herself and her teammates fighting these creature alongside the rest of the Fellowship, and she also noticed that they actually had to kill their enemies for once -something neither she nor her guildmates usually did...EVER- instead of just knocking them out cold like they normally would. It was something she would soon come to realize as something of a traumatic experience for all of them, herself included, and she had a feeling something like that would really be difficult to cope with for when they return to their world...or rather more like 'if' they ever find a way back to their world anyway, after this is finally over._

_The second part of her vision was what frightened Carla the most, as the white Exceed was now seeing Gandalf fighting against some sort of huge powerful demon made entirely of flames on top of a stone bridge that was inside the Mines. She then saw Natsu and Erza -after seeing the Titania requip into her Flame Empress Armor- rush over to try to help out the old wizard in defeating it, as she then saw Gandalf roughly throwing Natsu back where the others were standing after whacking him on the head for his foolishness. And as to be expected, she saw that Natsu had begun eating the flames of the demon until he suddenly ended up being stopped from doing so by Gandalf -she had to assume that apparently those flames were poisonous for someone like Natsu to just go and try to devour like that. She then went back to seeing Erza as she was seen trying to cut down the flame demon with her swords. She then saw the demon knock Erza away as though she were nothing but a pesky fly buzzing around it, and sending her flying against the wall near the rest of the Fellowship where she lay badly injured...before she then saw Gandalf finally finishing off the demon...but it came at the cost of the old wizard sacrificing himself as the demon had suddenly pulled him down along with it...~_

* * *

"Carla, are you alright?" Wendy worriedly asked her, as she and Lucy were now still trying to recover from the colds they had received from being on the Caradhras.

The white Exceed suddenly blinked from her premonition trance as she turned to look at the Sky Dragon Slayer. "Yes, I'm fine, Wendy. There's no need for you to worry," she replied while forcing a smile so as not to worry her with what she just saw, though Wendy didn't fail to notice that she was trembling in fear over something. _'What was that just now?'_ Carla thought to herself as she continued glancing over at Gandalf worriedly, as just thinking about her vision simply terrified her to no end. _'I wonder...should I warn him of this? Perhaps he could probably find a way to prevent it from actually coming true.'_

Sometime later, as Carla was still trying to make sense of what she just saw as well as pondering over as to whether or not she should warn Gandalf of her vision, the Fellowship soon came to a rocky area that night. They arrived at a large stone wall before a lake, with glowing runes carved in it. Somehow it didn't really appear to be exactly as Gimli had described it, as Team Natsu had pictured it to be a bit more lively and full of welcoming dwarves -Gimli's kin, but instead the place just appeared to be all gloomy-looking and deserted. But then again perhaps looks could be deceiving since perhaps it was only because they were still outside -as they had assumed that this was only what it looked like from the outside, which then lead to the main question the Fairy Tail wizards had on their minds.

"So, how are we supposed to get in anyway?" Happy decided to ask.

"Easy, we can always bust in," Natsu eagerly replied, igniting a flame in his hand and giving off a feral grin in the process. "Or Lucy could summon Virgo to tunnel our way in."

"No way! Are you crazy?" Lucy suddenly exclaimed frantically. "We're not going to get in trouble for breaking and entering because of you, Natsu!" She then gave him a good old Lucy Kick to the face for even suggesting that, and also just to spare Gandalf the head-whacking opportunity this time since she figured he needed a break from putting up with him.

Gandalf muttered to himself, "...Speak friend...and enter..."

"What does that mean?" Frodo asked, standing beside Happy and Natsu. "Oh well it's very simple you merely speak the password and the doors will open." Placing his staff against the runes...Gandalf spoke in a strange language and...

Nothing happened.

Sensing the others' judging gazes he merely rolled up his sleeves and spoke commandingly again.

Nothing...

"How are we going to open them?" Pippin asked.

"Knock your head against them, Peregrin Took! And then we shall be free of stupid questions!" Gandalf yelled out of frustration.

"Actually I'm not so sure he can handle brain damage like I can, gramps," Natsu pointed out in Pippin's defense.

"Natsu, shush," Erza told him sternly.

"Aye...," Natsu replied, not wanting to argue with the Titania...or get whacked on the head with Gandalf's staff again for that matter.

"But if it's supposed to be simple, then why couldn't they have just made it be something like 'open sesame', or something like that anyway?" Happy suggested, much to the Fellowship giving him questioning looks at that.

"And Happy, if you so much as interrupt again with another ridiculous suggestion like that...you will be finding yourself as a normal non-magical cat unable to talk or fly, faster than you can say 'aye' or 'fish'!" Gandalf threatened out of pure frustration.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Happy suddenly exclaimed frantically as he hid behind Carla, suddenly afraid of the thought of being turned into just a regular non-magical domestic housecat. "And I thought Erza was scary! Or Lucy, whenever she threatens me with something!"

"Honestly, tomcat, you were the one who had it coming!" Carla huffed in annoyance as she too had just been interrupted from her own thinking as well now thanks to Happy's immature antics just now.

Lucy, meanwhile, had also grown bored of just sitting and doing nothing and so surprising everyone by pulling out a gate key while calling out "Open! Gate of the Harp Constellation: Lyra!" as a young girl with a harp appeared before her.

"Hi Lucy, what do want me to sing for you?" Lyra's cheery voice asked. And the Fellowship -minus Team Natsu- now knew that this was this 'Lyra' spirit Lucy had mentioned back on the Caradhras when she had randomly started singing 'Let It Go'.

"Anything is fine, Lyra," Lucy told her, as Merry and Pippin both became curious to hear her harp spirit sing to ease their boredom as well.

"Alright then!" Lyra said as she began to strum a dark morbid-sounding melody on her harp that seemed only fitting for a place like this, and she began humming along as well. _"Hush, child, the darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep. Child, the darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep~" _And even though everyone all agreed that Lyra had an amazing singing voice, the song was suddenly beginning to affect Gandalf as he had begun somehow thinking of the demon he knew was lurking within the mines and politely asked Lucy to either change the song or send Lyra back home as the song was beginning to put him on edge a little bit. And Carla, too, was beginning to feel a little on edge from the song -especially after that vision she just foresaw and was still trying to make sense of.

"I'm sorry," Lucy immediately apologized to the old wizard. "Sometimes Lyra's songs just often tend to have that effect on people's emotions like that." She still hadn't forgotten the last time she had summoned Lyra like this back when they were on Galuna Island, and the song she sang then that had made Gray cry despite his protests that he wasn't crying, though she wasn't about to bring up that reminder anytime soon.

Although the hobbits were still eager to hear another song, but not as dark this time, which Lyra happily obliged as she began strumming another melody that was lighter than the first and began singing. _"I dreamed of living alone but fearless, secret longing to be courageous, loneliness kept bottled up inside, just reveal your brave face they'll never know you lied. Country road may lead me home, know I belong there all on my own, destiny calls, motionless, I stall, know I can't go, country road~"_ Lyra continued to sing and strum on her harp, and even Wendy and Carla found themselves listening as well along with a few other members of the Fellowship who found Lyra's voice to be quite soothing in a place like this while they waited for Gandalf to figure out the password to open the doors already. _"No matter how dark the world's inside me, I'll never stop to share a tear that I shed, but now I have to walk so fast, running, sprinting to forget what is lodged in my head. Country road may lead me home, know I belong there all on my own, destiny calls, motionless, I stall, know I can't go, country road. Country road, la la la la, you're a good friend, I'll never know, same tomorrow, regret and sorrow, can't take you home country road.~"_

Meanwhile, while that was going on, Natsu soon became increasingly bored after a while with nothing to do but listen to Gandalf figure out the password to open the doors and had taken to joining Merry and Pippin with throwing rocks into the lake until they were suddenly stopped by Aragorn who told them not to disturb the water.

Natsu, however, only tilted his head in confusion at that. "But it's not like there's actually anything in there to disturb, right?" He scoffed. "I mean, it's not like some giant octopus is gonna come out and take one or two of us to eat for dinner or somethin'."

Aragorn sighed and cuffed him over the head -since he doesn't have a staff like Gandalf does- for even thinking of something like that. "Even so, Natsu, you really ought to start learning to listen when someone is telling you not to do something. You're lucky Gandalf is too busy figuring out the way into these mines to give you anymore whacks with his staff again at the moment. And I hardly think Merry and Pippin need the extra encouragement from you as well."

"Aye...just anything but the head-whacking-staff-of-doom again...," Natsu managed to say weakly, as he then went over to sit next to Lucy who -along with a few other Fellowship members- was still enjoying Lyra's singing. But he was still bored, until he suddenly thought of something to pass the time. "Hey, Gray," he whispered to the ice wizard. _"Do you wanna build a snowman?~"_

Gray only gave him a serious look at that in reply. "You're a bit late for building a snowman, flame-for-brains. You should have done it back when you had the chance."

_"Ok, bye~," _Natsu said before walking off, while the Fellowship was suddenly confused about his sudden interest in wanting to build a snowman despite his magic being fire...or perhaps it was just some sort of pun on Gray being an ice wizard.

Gandalf soon became frustrated as he was unable to figure out the password and went over to sit down next to Frodo. "Oh it's useless," the old wizard muttered as a sign of giving up.

"Well, I guess it's time to go with good old Plan T," Natsu declared while igniting a flame in his hand.

Pippin blinked. "So what's 'Plan T'?" he asked curiously.

Natsu suddenly grinned and ignited a flame in each hand. "Take 'em by storm!" WHACK!

Gandalf had whipped around and whacked Natsu on the head repeatedly with his staff as well for his sudden impulsiveness. "Natsu Dragneel, what did I say about needing to exercise restraint at all times?! Are you _trying_ to render yourself no better than Smaug was, even after the trouble I went through to vouch for you during the Council of Elrond that you would be better well-behaved than this?! And that is not something that Pippin should be encouraged into doing, as he is already troublesome enough as it is for a hobbit! And going along with that, you could also at least learn to have a little patience as I try to figure out this password as well!" he huffed in annoyance as he then proceeded to whack him again until he finally got it through that thick head of his already.

Frodo blinked as he stared at the runes, "Speak friend...and enter...It's a riddle!" Frodo said, he tapped Gandalf on the shoulder as the old wizard then glanced over at the hobbit after he had finished reprimanding Natsu _again_ about needing to exercise restraint. "Gandalf! What's the Elvish word for friend?"

"...Mellon." And no sooner had Gandalf said the word, that the doors had suddenly creaked open and the runes vanished.

"Well, I guess this mean we can finally enter now," Gray stated coolly. "Way to finally figure it out already, 'cause I was just about ready to punch dragon breath in the face for being an idiot."

Fortunately Natsu wasn't paying attention to Gray at the moment, as he and Happy both suddenly began snickering after Gandalf had said the password to finally open the door. "That sure is a tasty password if you ask me." "Aye! The dwarves must have been super hungry to have come with a password like melon." They continued to whisper to each other and make fun of dwarf passwords, as they began wondering if all their passwords were food related like that, at least until Gandalf whacked them both on the head with his staff and reprimanded them and corrected their misinterpretation of it.

"Aww, why whack me too? I'm supposed to be the cute one here," Happy whimpered dramatically, while Lucy just rolled her eyes at the immature behavior of her two teammates. "Really you guys, your stupidity is starting to get old fast," the Celestial wizard told them both.

As the Fellowship made their way into the cavern it seemed just as decrepit and creepy as outside, and Team Natsu soon had a bad feeling about what was to be expected once they were inside. Although Gimli could be heard bragging to the group about the hospitality of his kin. "Soon my friends you shall enjoy the famous hospitality of my people! Malt beer, fresh meat off the bone...a roaring fire-!"

"Geez, you're really startin' to make me hungry here already...," Natsu told the dwarf, as the pyro's stomach had indeed suddenly began growling at the very thought of food.

"Aye!" Happy agreed with his best friend as he was now seen drooling hungrily in the mood for fish, which Carla just simply rolled her eyes at and ignored him.

"Seriously, enough with the growling stomachs and the drooling already," Lucy dryly told the pyro and the blue Exceed.

As Boromir's torch hit the walls...they saw cobwebs and worst of all...skeletons of dwarves who apparently had been here for years...they had been desecrated and had black arrows embedded in them. "N-no! Nooo!" Gimli wailed as he looked upon his kinsmen's corpses. It was a horrible sight for Team Natsu to even look upon, as they all just stood there looking shocked and horrified at the sight of Gimli's kin all slaughtered like this and it made them wonder just what sort of creature or monsters would do such a horrible thing.

"Th-that's just awful!" Wendy exclaimed in pure horror at the sight of the dwarf skeletons littering the floor, despite Natsu attempting to cover her eyes since children shouldn't have to see anything this horrible.

Legolas picked up one of the arrows, "Goblins!"

"We need to get out of here!"

"Out of the mines!" Gandalf shouted, but as they turned to head back out...an enormous tentacled beast -known as the Watcher in the Water- reached out of the depths of the lake as it extended one of its tentacles and happened to grab none other than Frodo as it pulls him out of the mines and away from the group. But just then, it suddenly extended another tentacle that was unknowingly headed for a member of Team Natsu as well.

"KYAA! NATSU!" Lucy suddenly screamed as she found herself being pulled out of the minds as well alongside Frodo, as they were both now being held suspended upside down in midair by the tentacles and causing the Fellowship and Team Natsu to spring into action as they now began fighting off the Watcher in order to rescue their two comrades from it.

"Whoa, no way! There really was a giant octopus lurking in the water!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed frantically.

"Yeah, way to point out the obvious there, genius," Gray sarcastically told him as he could now be seen trying to freeze the Watcher, while Erza was also seen helping out Aragorn and Boromir with slashing at the tentacles with her swords as well.

"And obviously this octopus ain't gettin' Lucy!" Natsu declared as he was all fired up and charging towards the Watcher while throwing flaming punches at it and going all-out just to get Lucy back. "Get your tentacles off of Lucy, you stupid giant octopus!" he shouted to it, while the hobbits could also be seen helping out as well to rescue Frodo.

"Oh great, I've seen enough hentai to know where _this_ is going," Lucy muttered with a deadpanned expression, and much to Frodo's confusion as he could also be seen struggling frantically to get free from the Watcher's tentacles while Lucy could be seen fumbling with her keys and trying to keep her skirt from flying up towards her in the process due to being upside down though she nearly dropped her keys by accident as she soon found the key she wanted. But before she had a chance to summon Aquarius, that was when Natsu suddenly came in from above courtesy of Happy flying him to deliver an aerial attack on the Watcher. "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" he shouted as he landed right on the Watcher's face and blinding it with his flames. "You better let go of my friends right now, stupid octopus, or the next one's gonna burn you to a crisp!" he furiously declared.

"Natsu, wait, at least get us down from here first before you start burning it to a crisp!" Frodo exclaimed frantically, just as Aragorn and Boromir had soon ended up slicing the tentacle that held him suspended in midair as he was then caught by Boromir. While Erza sliced through the tentacle that held Lucy, as the Celestial wizard unleashed a terrified scream as she was about to hit the water below her until Happy suddenly swooped down and snatched her up at the last second. "I got ya, Lucy!" the blue Exceed boldly declared. "But you do still need to lose weight," he couldn't help teasing her as he always did whenever he had to carry her.

"Oh zip it, and just get me away from that thing already!" Lucy frantically exclaimed, referring to the Watcher.

"Into the mines!" Gandalf shouted to them as everyone began to quickly follow the old wizard back into the mines.

Now fully enraged, the Watcher suddenly lashed out and grabbed Natsu by the ankle with a tentacle as it began wildly swinging him around to the point where the Salamander's one weakness suddenly began to show. "Aw crap, I think I'm gonna be sick...," he moaned as he was suddenly beginning to feel motion sick and looking like he was about to puke his guts up. The Watcher then threw him away as though it were getting rid of a pesky fly, as Natsu suddenly crashed-landed right into Gray as they were both sent tumbling backwards from the impact and crashing right into Legolas -who had just fired a couple more arrows at the Watcher before following the rest of the group into the mines again, with Gray dragging a motion sick Natsu along behind him.

"Geez, pull yourself together already, Natsu. You look really pathetic when you're like this," Gray was heard grumbling to the pink haired pyro, while Happy was also explaining to the Fellowship about Natsu's motion sickness problem.

"That octopus is gonna pay for this!" Natsu growled furiously, just as the Watcher was now making an attempt to follow them, only to be stopped by Natsu's flames. "Take this! This is for giving me motion sickness! Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" he shouted as he punched the Watcher with his flaming fist. "And _this_ is for trying to make Lucy and Frodo your dinner! FIRE DRAGON ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!" Though unfortunately, aside from the tentacles causing major damage and destruction to the entrance before returning underneath the lake, Natsu had also ended up going a little overboard in his fiery rage while fighting it as well. But at least he was able to rescue Lucy, and _nobody_ -not even a giant octopus- was **_ever_** going to take her away from him.

"Thanks, Natsu," Lucy told him, breathing a sigh of relief that the Watcher was gone now, even if Natsu did go a bit overboard there. Although she herself had gone and given the Watcher a good old "Lucy Kick!", to the face while angrily screaming the word "HENTAI!", at it much to the confusion of the Fellowship as they began to wonder what she meant by that word and why she would be screaming it at the Watcher like that.

"Great, way to go you pyro, now we're all trapped in here," Gray told him. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase 'conceal, don't feel, make one wrong move and everyone will know'?"

"Ha! I knew it! So you _have_ been taking lessons from the Snow Queen, Elsa-wannabe!" Natsu shot back.

"You know what? Just shut up...Pinkie Pie!" Gray retorted, though hesitating a bit on the new insult reference.

"That's enough, both of you! Now's not the time to be fighting one another," Erza said sternly before Natsu could even retort to that insult, stepping between them as she was able to see them -courtesy of Natsu's flaming fist- and knocking their heads together to stop them from bickering.

"A-Aye!" "Yes ma'am!" both boys replied in unison, as they didn't want to argue with the Titania for fear of invoking her wrath.

"Well that was a '_for the first time in forever' _insult reference," Happy stated singsongingly.

"Seriously, you guys can stop with the Frozen puns now," Lucy told them dryly.

Gandalf then struck his staff against the ground and the tip of it shone like a flashlight. "We now have but one choice...face the long dark paths of Moria...it is a four day journey to the other side...be on your guard and hope we go unnoticed." He also then turned and whacked both Natsu and Gray on the head for bickering again, and then proceeded to whack Natsu again for being partially responsible for the destruction of the entrance even if he was only doing so to save Lucy from the Watcher.

"Aw come on, gramps, can't you at least make an exception just this once?" Natsu protested while rubbing at the bump now growing on top of his head. "I was only trying to save Lucy from that giant octopus thing, so that should be good enough reason to go all-out."

Gandalf only sighed in annoyance as he supposed Natsu did have a point considering he really did only go all-out to like that to help rescue Lucy and Frodo from the Watcher -or 'giant octopus' as Natsu referred to it as, so he supposed he ought to just let it slide just this once. But it still frustrated the old wizard that the pink haired boy still stubbornly refused to take learning restraint seriously, it was as if he was purposely trying to give the old wizard a hard time. Well, he would have to eventually learn sooner or later that he can't continue to be reckless while going all-out with his magic like that, Gandalf thought to himself as he continued to lead the group through the mines. As they crossed through the mines, they saw abandoned ladders and mining equipment, and soon the path grew narrow and they each had to press against a wall that Lucy would notice had cracks that glowed with white gems. "The wealth in this place was not in gold or jewels, but Mithril." Gandalf shone his staff down upon the dark pit below and the walls below them shone like starlight.

"Bilbo had a shirt of Mithril rings that Thorin Oakenshield gave him near the end of their journey long ago." Gandalf said.

"Oh! That was quite a gift!" Gimli said in awe.

"Yes! I never told him, but its worth was more than the entire valley of the Shire!" Gandalf said as Frodo touched the hidden mithril shirt in surprise.

"Wow!" Lucy and Wendy exclaimed in awe and amazement as they gazed down at the mithril during Gandalf's explanation of it.

"Careful you don't fall over the edge, Lucy," Happy teased, slightly startling her as she shrieked and nearly jumped out of her skin in fright.

"KYAA! Do that to me again, stupid cat, and I'll make sure you're the one who falls in...with your wings tied behind your back so you can't fly back up!" Lucy threatened him.

"Aaaaahhhh! Natsu, Lucy's scaring me!" Happy wailed, flying quickly back over to the pyro while Carla just simply rolled her eyes in annoyance at him for being an immature tomcat.

"Geez, you're such a drama-cat," Lucy told him.

Natsu and Gray had surprisingly stopped fighting, mostly because Erza kept glaring over at them, but especially because they didn't want to get whacked by Gandalf's head-whacking-staff-of-doom again either as they were now also gazing down at the mithril, along with Erza, Happy, and Carla as well.

As they climbed further into the depths of Moria, Gandalf looked around at a pathway split into three doorways. "I...have no memory of this place." Gandalf quietly said.

"We rest here for the night." Gandalf said as they made camp.

The Fairy Tail wizards were sitting with Gandalf as the old wizard smoked his pipe and attempted to clear his mind of distraction...and remember the path to follow. Frodo spotted something moving down below in the darkness, leaping around. He rushed over to Team Natsu and Gandalf's group. "There's something down there!" He said in a panicked voice.

"Yes...it is Gollum. He's been following us for three days..." Gandalf said quietly.

Natsu leaned over to sniff the air above where Gollum was lurking, before suddenly recoiling back and burying his nose inside his scarf in disgust. "Well whatever he is, for some reason his scent practically reeks of rotten fish."

"Speaking of fish," Happy stated as he was rummaging through his green knapsack that he always wore around his neck, searching for something. "Natsu, you stole my fish again didn't you?"

"Aw come on Happy, I never even touched your fish," Natsu told him.

"That's what you said the last time you stole my fish! And then-" Happy sniffled as his eyes were now watery with tears over the loss of his fish.

"Oh good grief, not this again," Lucy muttered, as Natsu and Happy began arguing over the disappearance of Happy's fish. She still hadn't forgotten the last time they had argued like this over a fish, she just hoped they wouldn't take it too far this time with ending their friendship over it as Carla also looked slightly annoyed by the pyro and the blue Exceed with their silly argument over something as simple as a fish, while Erza, Gray and Wendy just did their best to ignore them. "Anyway, you were saying about this Gollum?" the Titania asked Gandalf.

Frodo's eyes widened, "B-but...I thought they captured him and...tortured him...did he escape?"

"Escape? ...or released..." Gandalf said quietly, paying no heed to the fish argument. "The Ring has drawn him near...he will never be rid of his need for it...he hates and loves the Ring...as he hates and loves himself. Smeagol he was once called...before his brother Deagol went fishing with him one day...they were creatures not dissimilar to hobbits...Deagol was pulled in by a large catch and came up with a handful of mud...they were fishing in the very lake that Isildur was killed in and lost the ring years and years earlier."  
"Smeagol saw the ring glittering in Deagol's hand...and it called to him. Smeagol was tempted by its beauty and strangled his brother for the Ring...he was later cast out of his village and crawled into the darkest pit he could find in the Misty Mountains. He whispered to the Ring, telling himself it was his birthday present...that it came to him and it was rightfully his."

"It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance," Frodo spat, Gandalf frowned: "It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand...many that live deserve death...and many that die deserve life...do not be so quick to deal out wanton death and judgement, Frodo. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part still to play in this, and Bilbo's mercy may rule the fate of many..."

"So in other words, you're saying he was just another victim of the ring's dark power, right?" Lucy pointed out, once Gandalf had finished explaining. She then glanced down at where Gollum still was as she felt her heart go out to the poor twisted creature, and she had to agree with Gandalf that the thought of mercilessly killing him like that just wouldn't be right at all as she was somehow thinking that maybe Gollum deserved a chance at redemption if given the chance.

Gandalf nodded to her question. "You truly have a compassionate heart, Lucy Heartfilia, perhaps you may very well end up being the key to redeeming Smeagol from his fate," he told her solemnly as though he could somehow read her mind, leaving Lucy to ponder over what he had just told her.

"Indeed, it truly is a cruel fate for those who succumb to darkness like that," Erza agreed with Lucy, though she was also thinking of Jellal when he first became possessed by Zeref back during their days in the Tower of Heaven. "My friend Jellal was another example of this when he became possessed by Zeref's dark magic, and it changed him from the kind gentle boy I once knew into someone more cruel and despicable. I was put in a situation where I could have killed him to end all the torment and suffering he'd caused in the Tower of Heaven, but he was also still my friend from childhood, and not to mention killing him would not have been right either. Though in the end, Jellal did end up reverting back to his old self again." Of course, she didn't mention the few other details that were involved like how she had assumed Jellal had been killed during the final destruction of the Tower of Heaven, as well as her reunion with him when they were working to stop Nirvana which was after the Oracion Seis had forced Wendy to use her magic to heal him. Although he had lost all of his memories then, which he had regained later on while in the Magic Council's custody. Those details weren't really of that much importance to include, since all that mattered was that Jellal was no longer under Zeref's dark influence anymore.

Frodo sighed tearfully and sat down next to Gandalf. "I wish the ring had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened."

Gandalf placed a comforting hand on Frodo's shoulder, "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide...all we can do is make the most of the time that is given to us. One thing I know, is that Bilbo was meant to find the ring...and you were meant to have it and take it to the mountain...and that is a very comforting thought."

For some reason that also made Gray suddenly think of his past involving Deliora, and that had he never gone to challenge the demon in the first place to avenge his parents then Ur would never have sacrificed herself by using Iced Shell to seal Deliora away and then maybe Lyon also still would have been able to fulfill his goal to surpass Ur instead of trying to use Moon Drip on Galuna Island to melt the ice surrounding Deliora just so he could fight it and surpass Ur that way. Though now, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he never would have been able to follow Ur's advice that led him to joining Fairy Tail as well as the events from Galuna Island that eventually persuaded Lyon to join the Lamia Scale guild. He couldn't hide the amused chuckle that escaped him. "It's funny how the old man's wisdom and advice seems to have an effect of all us as well," he suddenly found himself commenting to Frodo. "Like Erza with Jellal, I was just thinking of how if I had never gone to challenge the demon Deliora to avenge my parents who were killed by him then Ur, my teacher who taught me ice magic, would never have had to have sacrificed herself to use this spell called Iced Shell to seal Deliora away. But then I probably wouldn't have joined Fairy Tail at the time, had things turned out differently like that."

Gandalf glanced over at the ice wizard and nodded. "I'm glad at least somebody has the sense to take the advice and wisdom of an old man seriously, Gray Fullbuster," he said with an amused twinkle in his eye, before adding more seriously; "If only would also take it seriously about keeping your stripping habit under control as well."

"Yeah, well, it kinda can't really be helped due to learning ice magic from Ur of all people. And not to mention stripping was part of the training in order to get used to the cold," Gray muttered, which earned him a whack on the head from Gandalf's staff.

"And speaking of demons," Carla suddenly spoke up after hearing Gray mentioning Deliora, though she still hesitated as to whether or not revealing her vision would be a good idea. But she took a deep breath when Gandalf nodded for her to go on. "I had some sort of vision a while back when we were just barely arriving here, and it had to do us being in these mines. Precognition is another magical ability of mine, just so you know," she explained to the old wizard.

Wendy suddenly looked a bit surprised at that. "But I thought you said it was nothing to worry about, Carla."

"I know, I...only said that because I didn't want to cause you or anyone else here to have to worry about it, and nor did I want to frighten anybody with it," Carla told her hesitantly while shuddering at the very thought of it. "It gave me a bad feeling about what was to be expected upon entering these mines after seeing it." She then inquired as to whether or not it could be prevented as Gandalf nodded to her in understanding, knowing exactly what the white Exceed could only be referring to, although he had to admit he wasn't sure how he could reassure her about how to prevent her vision from becoming a reality considering that he obviously knew of the demon that lurked beneath the mines and just what it was capable of.

That was when Wendy suddenly decided to ask something that made even her friends pause to consider. "Do you think we'll ever be able to return to our world again after this is over with?" she quietly spoke up, as her teammates all suddenly looked downcast at that as they realized that she had a point there. Once they were finished with this quest, how would they even be able to recreate the portal that brought them here? And would they ever be able to see their beloved guild and their guildmates again? Suddenly they weren't so sure anymore.

Gandalf, sensing Team Natsu's sudden distress about if they would ever be able to return home, decided to ease their troubled minds. He released a sigh before finally responding. "I cannot guarantee for certain about whether or not you will be able to return home to your world," he told them honestly. "But if you ever do find some way to recreate your portal that brought you here, I am afraid that you all may never be the same again when you do return home."

Natsu, however, only tilted his head in confusion at what the old wizard had just said. "What do you mean we won't be the same again, gramps? You sayin' we won't be Fairy Tail wizards anymore, or somethin'?" He had also eventually settled his dispute with Happy over the missing fish, coming to the conclusion that maybe the blue Exceed may have dropped it somewhere along the way without realizing and assumed Gollum had somehow snatched it up sometime afterwards. And Natsu did comment that Gollum reeked of rotten fish, after all, so it only made sense that he could have taken Happy's fish. And it ended up being resolved by Natsu promising Happy that the two of them would go fishing if they all ever got out of Moria alive, which Natsu didn't doubt at all that they all would.

Gandalf frowned and whacked Natsu on the head for misinterpreting his explanation, before replying; "How do I explain this so you will better understand...? I suppose you could say I mean that you all will have...matured in many ways during this quest. At least, that is what I hope for you anyway... But there will also be many challenges for you here in Middle Earth that may leave you scarred for life when you do return to your own world again."

"Well if we ever do find a way home after this, the first thing I'm gonna do is go straight to my apartment and take a nice long shower," Lucy said, sighing longingly for a much needed shower.

"Don't worry, Lucy, I don't doubt at all that we will find our portal home after this quest is over," Erza assured her comfortingly, as the Celestial wizard gave a small smile in reply.

Gandalf then suddenly looked up past Gray and pointed to a doorway, "There."

"He's remembered," Merry suddenly said, jumping to his feet.

Gandalf was now seen walking towards the corridor he had just pointed out as he replied. "No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down here. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose...which is also something that Natsu and Wendy know about all too well."

"Whoa, sweet! I had no idea that you also had dragon enhanced senses t-" WHACK "Aw come on, gramps, I thought that's what you meant," Natsu added, while now rubbing at a rather large bump on his head from Gandalf's staff.

"I said nothing of the sort about myself having dragon enhanced senses, Natsu Dragneel! I was merely referring it back to you!" the old wizard reprimanded him, and proceeded to whack him with his staff again for misinterpreting.

"Well gee, you coulda fooled me...," Natsu mumbled irritably, as the Fellowship then proceeded walking down the corridor that Gandalf had pointed out was the way to go.

* * *

**Yeah, Natsu's really gonna start to regret ever giving Gandalf a hard time. Poor Gandalf, he really needs a break from all the Fairy Tail chaos that Team Natsu (save for Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Carla) likes to cause. So in other words I'm just referring to Natsu, Gray, and Erza. Well anywho, you all just do what you do best...aka, read/review. Most of the action will be in the next part to this chapter, yes including the Balrog and *sniffles and grabs kleenex* Gandalf's sacrifice *starts sobbing*. :'(  
And now it's time for a LOTR fun fact: I bet nobody ever knew that the tentacled creature lurking in the lake just outside the mines is actually known as the Watcher in the Water. I had to look it up myself to find that out. ;)  
**


	11. Chapter 9 part 2 Tragedy Within Moria

**Part 2 of their long dark trek through Moria, this part when on a bit longer than I thought...but hey, the epic battle scenes have to be this long and good to read, right? Anyway, here it is, so I'll just stop talking now.**

**Disclaimer: Still the same answer there.**

**And for akitowolfblood, I'm not sure if it's exactly as you requested but there are some moments in here of Legolas helping Lucy out. But I guess I'll just let you be the judge of how it turned out, even though I hope you still like it anyway.**

**Now onto the story.**

* * *

**Chapter 9 part 2 Tragedy Within Moria**

The Fellowship and Team Natsu were soon making their way through a dark chamber with cobwebs until they came upon a large chamber wherein Gimli rushed forward with a cry. "Gimli, wait!" Aragorn cried out. They saw Gimli fall to his knees in front of a large ornate box carved out of stone with a white light shining above it. Carved into the surface were words Gandalf read: "Here Lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." Gandalf sighed, taking off his hat. He spoke quietly, "I am sorry my old friend..." He said, brushing some dust from the tombstone. Seeing a skeleton, Gandalf took an old cobwebbed tome from its clutches after handing his hat and staff to Pippin to hold onto. "We have taken the twenty-first hall, there is good air, it can be watched. Balin has become Lord of Moria...found Mithril...Oin to seek upper-armories." Gandalf turned the page, the book had been damaged and slightly burned, and some of the writings were unreadable. "Sorrow already... five years since we came...dreadful place...Balin...slain. ..orc archer...many more came...something in the water...took Oin..."

The Fairy Tail wizards were all horrified at what had happened to Gimli's kin here that they weren't exactly sure how to respond, though Gray somehow felt that he could probably relate the most in a way when Deliora had completely destroyed his entire hometown and all the people there -his own parents included- when he was still just a kid.

"Tha-That's awful," Lucy commented sorrowfully, yet she was horrified at the same time at whatever monsters would do such a thing to the dwarves who once lived here at one time.

"It's like...like Deliora somehow came and happened all over again," Gray added, feeling a sudden wave of emotions sweep over him at the very thought of the demon wreaking its havoc everywhere. He could be seen clenching his fists to keep from trembling in fear, which didn't go unnoticed by the Fellowship...although they had no idea what this 'Deliora' was that he referred to, though it was clear that the ice wizard was now suddenly terrified of being here, as were the other members of Team Natsu as well.

Gandalf turned to the last page, "We cannot get out...we cannot get out...Dwalin slew fifteen of the goblins before they slew him...and even then...was able to take four more of them despite his wound...we have barred the gates...a shadow moves in the dark...we cannot get out...they are coming...they are coming..." Gandalf shut the book saying sadly: "That is where it ends..."

Natsu found himself watching Pippin as the hobbit could be seen running his hand along an arrow that was sticking out of a skeleton that was just sitting on top of what appeared to be a well of some sort, though unfortunately his action had suddenly caused the head to roll off and tumble loudly down the well followed quickly by the skeleton's body falling down after it just as loudly as well, making both Pippin and Natsu wince from the sudden noise it had just made, as everybody soon turned to see the source of the noise. Gandalf had then gone over and taken his hat and staff back from Pippin as he harshly reprimanded the hobbit for his foolish action. "Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us if your stupidity! And while you're at it, you should take Natsu with you so I no longer have to put up with his stupidity as well!" He then proceeded to whack Natsu on the head with his staff.

Just then the sound of drums could be heard somewhere in the distance and getting closer and louder the closer they got, as Natsu and Wendy suddenly began sniffing the air for any possible sign of enemies that could still be lying in wait to attack them at any moment. A grunting and growling was soon heard, and three goblins were seen with torches, and holding chains connected to an iron collar around an ugly troll's neck. Boromir, Aragorn, and Legolas were then seen rushing over to quickly push the doors closed to prevent the orcs and goblins from getting in, with Erza, Natsu, and Gray also going over to help bar the doors shut as well.

"They have a cave troll," Boromir commented as though he were stating the obvious.

Gimli was now seen standing up on Balin's tomb and declaring in a challenging tone of voice to just let them come in already. "There's one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!"

The battle soon commenced as orcs began flooding into the room as the Fellowship and Team Natsu were now seen fighting them off. Erza had requipped into her Purgatory Armor and moved to help out Aragorn and Boromir with fighting off the orcs and goblins. While Lucy decided to help Legolas take out the troll, as she pulled out one of her gate keys and calling out "Open! Gate of the Archer: Sagittarius!", as the man-horse spirit appeared before her. Then she got out another key. "Open! Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!"

"Hey there Miss Lucy, how about a smooooooooch?" Taurus asked her in his usual pervy manner, and much to Legolas' disapproval when he noticed how the perverted cow spirit acted towards Lucy after she had summoned him.

Although Lucy, however, only sweat-dropped at that. "Yeah, now is hardly the time for that," she told her most perverted spirit. "I need your help taking care of these guys, Taurus and Sagittarius," she added, referring to the goblins and the troll.

"You got it, Miss Lucy," Taurus replied. "And then that smooooooch afterwards."

Lucy just rolled her eyes as she began to help her two spirits out as well, with Sagittarius helping to take out the troll while Taurus was taking out orcs, while she got out her own bow to help out as well although she realized that she had lost most of her arrows when the Watcher had grabbed her and held her upside down, and decided that she would just have to use them sparingly until she could get more.

Carla had transformed into her human-ish form, though she still had her cat ears and tail, and was helping out Wendy, who was also helping out the hobbits with her support magic. And even Happy was doing his best to help out as best he could, despite not being able to transform like Carla, as he was now seen on top of an orc and trying to punch the top of its head as hard as he could. While Natsu and Gray were just helping out wherever they could, knocking down orcs here and there as they were seen fighting back to back -Gray having lost his shirt somewhere in the midst of the battle without realizing.

"Heh! I'm all fired up now!" Natsu declared. "Fire Dragon Roar! Fire Dragon Iron Fist! Talon! Wing Attack! Sword Horn! Flame Elbow!" He continuously shouted out attack after attack at any orc that happened to cross his path.

"Hey, don't go showin' me up, loser," Gray called over to him, as he was taking out a few orcs of his own as well. "Ice-Make: Lance! Ice Blade: Seven Slice Dance!" He also decided to use a bit of his Demon Slayer magic on the orcs as well. "Ice Demon's Rage!" Gray shouted out with his Demon Slayer breath attack at any orcs that happened to cross his path.

Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin fought bravely to protect one another. Frodo utilized Sting whose blade was indeed glowing blue to indicate the orcs' sudden appearance. The hobbits were clearly not experienced in combat, and were sloppy. The cave troll could soon be seen going for Sam, who then dived underneath the troll to avoid being attacked by it as the ginger-haired hobbit could now be seen knocking down orcs with his frying pan.

"Frying pans! Who knew, right?" Happy suddenly said, as he was now seen clawing at another orc from on top of its head.

Sam looked over at him and just shrugged. "I think I'm gettin' the hang of this," he replied to the blue Exceed, who in turn gave the ginger-haired hobbit a catlike grin and a thumbs-up in reply.

Boromir fought back to back with Erza, but he suddenly noticed something off about Team Natsu's fighting methods as he happened to noticed they were only just knocking out any orcs that crossed their path instead of killing them on sight. Even Erza, despite the fact that she was fighting with swords, while Natsu and Gray were hardly using their own swords as they were solely relying on their magic to fight with most of the time despite their sword practice with Erza. And then there was Lucy fighting alongside two of her spirits...well the Celestial Spirits weren't really the problem, but it was the way she was using her bow and arrows and not even hitting a single vital spot on any orc she took aim at. And not to mention the little girl Wendy, along with those two cats Happy and Carla...well, those three were over helping to protect the hobbits -and not to mention Wendy was still only a child, so it was understandable for her...and even the hobbits were understandable since they were just only inexperienced in fighting...but Boromir knew something had to be done immediately to correct Team Natsu's fighting methods before anyone else would notice. "Why do you not kill your enemies?" he asked of Erza, who in turn blinked in surprise at the sudden question. Even Natsu and Gray -who happened to be close by as they were fighting orcs- had heard the question as well, as they were now seen punching their way through orcs to reach them.

"What kinda question is that?" Natsu harshly shot back at him in reply.

Gray sighed. "What flame-for-brains means is...well...that is...," he took a deep breath before finally saying; "UsFairyTailwizardshaveneveractuallykilledbefore...," he said all in one breath and hoping that Boromir didn't catch on.

Erza nodded solemnly. "It's true," she admitted. "Usually after we defeat an enemy back in our world, the Magic Council usually steps in to take them into custody afterwards."

"Well here in Middle Earth, when fighting enemies it's either kill or be killed, and there is no 'magic council' here to 'take enemies into custody' as you put it," Boromir explained to them. "So however you go about dealing with enemies where you're from won't work here, unless you want leave a bad impression of yourselves towards the Free Peoples. So you may want to keep that in mind when dealing with enemies. And going off of that, you may also want to consider being less conspicuous when calling out your attacks the way you've been doing as it makes it sound as though you are announcing your presence to the enemy, which is something you may want to work on avoiding."

Natsu, Gray, and Erza all suddenly had equal looks of surprise as he told them that, although what he said about the way they call out their attacks the way they do had left them with something to ponder on -though Erza wasn't all too happy with that, as she could now be seen trying to argue her point across. "It's not as though we were trying to do it on purpose, that's just the way we always use our magic," the Titania argued. "And also going off of that, why do you see it fit to lecture us on this in the middle of a battle?"

Natsu's and Gray's jaws dropped in utter shock at her argument, considering how she would always get after them for trying to argue, although Boromir was not the least bit intimidated in the slightest by Erza's arguing statement -and nor did he even flinch at the sharp tone of her voice, as he then suddenly turned and sliced off the head of an orc that had somehow decided to take advantage of his being distracted while he was talking with the now paralyzed with shock Fairy Tail trio as they just stood there stunned speechless watching him decapitate an orc right in front of them. Of course they knew that Boromir had a point with what he had just explained to them, but couldn't he see that this was all still new to them for him to just go and do that? To Natsu and Gray, it was more horrifying than being intimidated by Erza -which they could actually live with, unlike the thought of killing. While Erza, meanwhile, was trying not to show it, although it was clear to Natsu and Gray that she was just as terrified as they were about this -if her trembling in fear was anything to go by. Boromir noticed this as he turned back towards them, though however he just figured that they would have to get used to it eventually if they wanted to survive in this world until this whole quest was finished. Though he never meant to be that harshly critical about it, he just felt as though that was something that the Fairy Tail wizards ought to keep in mind for as long as they remain here in Middle Earth. He then just continued on battling more orcs that came at him, while dealing with traumatized teenagers could wait until with later once they were finally out of these mines. Although the three of them just continued to help fight off orcs to the best of their ability despite the trauma it may end up causing them later on, and not to mention they were now wanting to get out of these mines as fast as they could now.

Although aside from Boromir, Gandalf had also been observing the way the trio of Fairy Tail's strongest team fought off the enemies as he somehow had a feeling that Team Natsu might now be beginning to understand what he had meant when he told them that they would never be the same again as he sensed that they may end up being traumatized for life once they returned to their own world after this quest was finally finished -but they would have their guildmates back in Fairy Tail to help them get through it. And the old wizard had also heard Boromir's comment on the way Team Natsu always called out their attacks and how it sounded almost as if they were announcing their presence to the enemy with the way they were doing that, and it made him think that Boromir may have a point there and thought that perhaps the Fairy Tail wizards would probably have to find some other way of calling out their attacks without being too conspicuous while doing so in the process without drawing too much attention to themselves or to the enemy. And he was also considering giving Erza a good whack on the head with his staff, once they were finally out of here, for trying to argue her point against Boromir for only trying to help by pointing out things like that.

Meanwhile, Lucy had also just received that same initial traumatic shock as her three teammates had as she watched as Legolas fired an arrow that pinned an orc's head to a wall, while Gimli was fighting in a rage and slaughtering every orc he could get his axes on -though Lucy could only understand that it was because the dwarf was just avenging his fallen kin that were slain here.

"Aragorn! Behind you!" Legolas called out, as Aragorn stabbed an orc through the stomach who was attacking him from behind.

The sight of orc blood being splattered everywhere was enough to make Lucy suddenly feel sick to her stomach -like Natsu and motion sickness, only much _much_ worse- which didn't go by unnoticed by Legolas and Aragorn as they both saw her suddenly looking a bit pale. Out of concern for the Celestial wizard, Legolas was soon seen making his way over to her to ensure that she was doing alright. "Lucy, are you doing alright over here?" the elf inquired worriedly.

"Huh?" Lucy blinked out of her shock for a moment after taking notice of him now standing before her. "Y-Yeah, I'm totally fine," she replied with a nervous laugh that didn't sound at all convincing for her to be 'fine' as she put it, and Legolas wasn't about to let it go until he knew what had shocked her so suddenly like that as he gave her a look that clearly showed that he wasn't convinced. Lucy sighed as she wondered why elves had to be so perceptive, though she figured she may as well just confide in him about what was bothering her. "Well i-it's just that...where we're from, u-us Fairy Tail wizards have just never actually had to kill our enemies before since the Magic Council usually just takes them into custody afterwards...," she said somewhat hesitantly, hoping the elf wouldn't judge her for it. Though instead of showing judgmental criticism about it the way Boromir had done with Natsu, Erza, and Gray...Legolas merely looked surprised as she said that. So then this was all just a new experience to her, and to her friends as well, but at least that made a lot of sense now as to why she suddenly became so paralyzed with shock in the first place. Although he didn't really understand what this 'magic council' was that she mentioned, though that was something that could be asked about later once they were finally out these mines.

Taurus and Sagittarius eventually had to return to the Celestial World to rest up and recover their strength and magical energy, but just as Lucy was about to summon another spirit to help out...that was when the cave troll suddenly decided to take advantage of their momentary distraction from the battle to attack them, which Legolas took notice of and took aim at the troll's head and letting loose two arrows that embedded one each in the beast's eyesockets making Lucy wince slightly though she also fired an arrow at the same time which found its way to being embedded right into the troll's nose -although it happened to be her last arrow, much to her dismay, which she blamed the Watcher for. The troll suddenly roared and blindly lashed out, knocking Lucy aside before either she or Legolas even had a chance to react in time, and sending her flying back and hitting the wall next to the hobbits where she lay barely conscious and badly injured. That was when Natsu had suddenly heard her scream, as he looked over in shock as the troll had just injured his Lucy and sent her flying and crashing straight into a wall. "Lucy!" Now fully enraged, the Salamander was now seen burning down orcs in order to reach her -with Gray helping out as well, freezing enemies in his path.

"Natsu, I got things here, you just focus on getting to Lucy," Gray told him.

"Huh? You sure?" Natsu asked back in reply, knowing full well that both he and Gray still haven't even fully recovered yet from the shock they received about having to kill their enemies.

"Yeah, don't worry, but Lucy probably needs you right now," Gray assured him, though the ice wizard hardly felt confident in himself anymore after what Boromir had told them about needing to kill their enemies, and he knew Natsu was right to question the matter, but he still wasn't about to let that stop him from continuing to help out wherever he could.

"Alright then," Natsu agreed, as he and Gray both nodded firmly to each other and fist-bumped in acknowledgement before splitting up -with Natsu fighting his way through orcs while making his way over to Lucy, while Gray was now seen helping out Legolas and Gimli with taking out more orcs, although the elf and dwarf also happened to take notice of how the two boys were just as uneasy about this as Lucy -but at least surprisingly they weren't bickering with each other since they knew that now was no longer the time for that anymore, as both Natsu and Gray did tend to show extraordinary teamwork when seen working together like this.

Meanwhile, the troll was lashing out everywhere in a blind rage and smashing things in its path as it was now blindly charging over towards the hobbits. "Oh no, it's coming this way!" Merry shouted as the troll began to blindly charge at them. Boromir stepped forward and stabbed the point of his sword into the charging troll's forehead, and causing it to be embedded up to the handle. Aragorn quickly sliced the beast's throat as Boromir removed his sword, while Erza was also seen slashing at the troll with her own swords as well.

Time seemed to slow down as Frodo was suddenly hit by an orc arrow in the belly and his back hit a pillar as he slid down it and appeared in shock of what had happened. Wendy gasped in shock, as she was horrified at seeing that Frodo had been struck down. "Carla, you stay and continue to help out here! I'm gonna tend to Frodo!" And with that she was rushing over to see to Frodo, with Carla calling out to her to be careful as she did so. Though little did the Sky Dragon know, she was soon in for a big surprise as she went over to try to heal Frodo. While the white Exceed, however, was still recovering from the shock of her vision actually happening -although it never showed anything about Lucy getting injured as well, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Natsu rushing over to help her.

Soon what was left of the orcs all fled into the darkness, and Frodo was seemingly unaffected by Wendy's magic because he wasn't injured at all -much to her surprise when she tried to heal him. "How are you alive?" Aragorn asked in surprise. Frodo felt that one of his vest buttons had come undone and revealed the shining Mithril mail underneath. Gimli's jaw dropped as he smiled, "You hobbits are certainly full of surprises..."

Even the members of Team Natsu all breathed a sigh of relief that the Ringbearer was alright and still alive. Natsu had also gone over to help Lucy back up, though unfortunately the moment she attempted to stand up the Celestial wizard suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot up through her right leg that suddenly caused her to wince and cry out in pain -as it appeared to be either broken or dislocated, though she didn't know which for sure, but the pain did make her feel dizzy and a bit queasy while standing even though she had Natsu supporting her to keep her from falling back over.

"Um, I can do a quick healing session if you want, Lucy," Wendy suggested, as Legolas had also gone over to help support the Celestial wizard as well.

"Maybe you should wait until we get out of here first," Lucy politely yet nervously declined...nervously because she didn't want to be in here any longer and she could tell that everyone else agreed with her on that as well, along with Gandalf even saying that they should not continue to linger here any longer than they already have.

"Aright then, you're right," Wendy agreed, as she too wanted to get out of Moria as quickly as possible now as well.

The Fellowship and Team Natsu were soon making their way cautiously into the large marble halls, Natsu was seen carrying Lucy piggyback style and being careful of her either broken or dislocated leg in the process, as the group continued to follow behind Gandalf...when the old wizard jolted as if something had struck him and he gripped his staff tightly and held his chest.

"Gandalf!" Legolas went to assist the elderly wizard. That was when they heard the earsplitting roar...

The company went silent until Boromir spoke in quiet fear: "What is this new devilry...?"

Gimli had gone pale.

Gandalf gripped his staff tighter: "A Balrog; a demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you! We must make our way to the bridge of Khazad-Dum, it will lead us out of this place!" Gandalf strode forward into a dimly lit room split in two by a narrow bridge...they could see sunlight on the other end.

"Gandalf..." Aragorn said to the panting wizard. Gandalf turned to Erza and Aragorn, "Lead them on...Erza, Aragorn...I'm trusting you to lead the company to safety."

Aragorn went to assist the seemingly struggling old man, but was surprised when Gandalf shoved him aside. "DO AS I SAY! Swords are of NO MORE USE HERE!"

Erza placed a hand on Aragorn's shoulder. "If that is his wish, then we must obey him." Even though she didn't like it any more than the rest of them did, the Titania was still willing to go along with it anyway.

"Gray? Are you ok?" Lucy worriedly asked the ice wizard, who seemed to be frozen with fear after hearing the roar. The Celestial wizard reached out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "No, of course you're not," she quickly amended. She hated to see her friend terrified like this, it just made her feel helpless to know that she somehow didn't know how to fully comfort him in this situation. Even if this demon wasn't the one from his childhood, it was still just as traumatizing for him to even think about.

"That roar...i-it can't be...D-Deliora..." Gray said quietly as he found he couldn't stop himself from trembling in fear.

Gandalf turned towards the terrified ice wizard. "Calm yourself, Gray Fullbuster, you should know all too well that this demon is not the one from your past," he reassured him. "The Balrog is far more dangerous and powerful than I assume what this 'Deliora' is capable of...and just as deadly to anybody foolish enough to even think of devouring its flames," the old wizard directed that last part towards Natsu, who wasn't really paying any attention at all as he said that.

"Huh? You say somethin', gramps?" Natsu asked, which earned him a whack on the head from Gandalf's staff for not listening.

Gray blinked, coming to from his initial shock to find the Fellowship all giving him concerned looks. Great, as if he wasn't already feeling pathetic enough as it is, right? Even the hobbits must be thinking of how uncool he must seem to them now. "Y-Yeah, but...," he started to say, but was interrupted by Erza.

"It'll be alright, Gray," the Titania tried to reassure him, but even she knew that it really wouldn't be alright anymore. Not with this demon that was now after them.

The Fellowship and Team Natsu all made it to the bridge and hurried over to the other side, while Gandalf remained in the center of the bridge as a gigantic demonic creature with horns and a body made of flame and pure shadow leaped out before Gandalf and roared. Gandalf stood his ground and held his sword and staff at either side. "You cannot pass!" He shouted.

Carla suddenly became extremely fearful at this, as this was now the second part to her vision that was now happening right before her very eyes and she suddenly felt powerless to even try to prevent it now. She just hoped that at least Natsu and Erza wouldn't end up involving themselves in fighting this flame demon as well, especially the part where she saw Natsu eating the Balrog's flames...there was no way Carla would allow that to happen, at least that's what she hoped anyway.

"Gandalf!" Frodo attempted to go back, but was held back by Aragorn.

The Balrog snorted in response to Gandalf's cry as the wizard continued, raising his staff as a shield of light surrounded him. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire...wielder of the Flame of Arnor...the dark fire will NOT avail you! FLAME OF UDUN!" The Balrog wielded a sword made of flame and struck Gandalf with it, the magical shield cracking a bit as Gandalf cried out from the strain his magic was enduring.

The Balrog's sword vanished into ash as it touched Gandalf's forcefield, and Gandalf spat at the beast: "Go back to the shadow!"

The Fairy Tail wizards could only watch with horrified expressions as they somehow had a feeling of what the old wizard was planning on doing, though for Gray he somehow thought he was seeing Ur all over again as she was casting the Iced Shell to seal Deliora away...except that there was no Iced Shell this time in this case, but it was still just as traumatizing for him to witness. Although the pyro of the group wasn't about to lose anybody here at all, especially not Gandalf of all people despite the trouble that Natsu always caused him since this whole quest started. "No way, gramps!" Natsu declared, his fists igniting. "We're all getting outta this place together, you hear me?!" he shouted to Gandalf. "So don't you dare go dyin' on us!"

"Natsu, don't! You can't involve yourself in this fight!" Carla shouted frantically and fearfully to him.

But Natsu only ignored her as he continued on ranting to Gandalf. "I know I've always given you a hard time up till now, but I promise I'll behave better from now on, and I know I _can_ learn restraint just like you want me to! Just please don't do this, gramps!" He was unaware of it, but tears had suddenly began streaming down his face as he pleaded with the old wizard to just forget about the demon so they could all leave this place together, and he was also unaware of the fact that he had unknowingly sounded almost similar to Gray back when the ice wizard had pleaded for Ur to not use Iced Shell when she had sealed Deliora away -much to Gray's added trauma to that, as the ice wizard knew that his nightmares of Deliora would return after this. "'Cause us wizards gotta stick together!" Then Natsu suddenly did something completely stupid and foolish. After passing Lucy over to Legolas to look after, the pyro then charged forward to help fight off the flame demon.

"Natsu, get back here this instant!" Carla shouted after him, in fear of what he was about to do.

Erza sighed. "Natsu, you idiot!" She requipped into her Flame Empress Armor, much to Carla's initial shock as that had been part of her vision as well, and charged off after the pink haired pyro.

"No, this can't be happening...," Carla said fearfully before shouting out towards the Titania and Salamander. "Natsu! Whatever you do, you mustn't eat the flames!" she shouted just as the Fellowship were all now glancing towards the white Exceed as they began to wonder just how she was able to know all of this despite not being from Middle Earth to begin with, though it was Wendy who did the explaining to them that another of Carla's magical abilities was Precognition -the ability to see into the future, though the white Exceed often didn't have good control over her visions which she was still trying to work with perfecting.

Meanwhile, Natsu had leaped up while using his flames as a boost so he now was on top the Balrog, as he could now be seen eating its flames, much to the shock and surprise of the Fellowship as they had never witnessed him actually eating fire before until now -although devouring the flames of the Balrog would be considered a foolish thing to do, as Natsu would soon learn the hard way as Gandalf had suddenly taken notice of what the Fire Dragon Slayer was doing.

"You foolish boy! Are you _trying_ to poison yourself?!" Gandalf shouted to him, and much to Erza's shock since she had been within earshot as she heard that.

"Well it wouldn't be the first time he did something this foolish," the Scarlet Knight said. "Like the time he ate Ethernano in the Tower of Heaven while he was fighting Jellal, only to end up getting really sick afterwards."

Gandalf nodded as he then used his magic to pull Natsu from off the Balrog and whack him on the head for his foolishness before roughly throwing him back towards the rest of the Fellowship, where he was now seen choking and gagging on the flames he had just devoured. "Aw man...forget the fire in my belly...those were by far the worst tasting flames I've ever eaten...! Ugh...I...suddenly don't feel so good...," he moaned as he was on the ground looking like he was about to puke his guts out, much to the surprise of the Fellowship that he would even do something so foolish to begin with.

"Aye...that's Natsu for ya...," Happy said with a deadpanned expression.

"Well that's what you get for ignoring my warning!" Carla huffed in annoyance, though she also continued to watch Erza as she was attempting to cut down against the Balrog in her Flame Empress Armor although she wasn't having much luck considering the flame demon was much more powerful than her Flame Empress as she continued to get beat by it. But knowing Erza, she wasn't about to give up just yet and nor would she allow the old wizard to take care of the Balrog alone. Just then the Balrog suddenly caught Erza around the ankle with its fiery whip as it swung her around and threw her away, as though she were nothing but a pesky fly buzzing around it, where she hit the wall next to the Fellowship unconscious and badly injured.

"Oh no, Erza!" a horrified Lucy screamed as she just watched the Titania being thrown aside by the demon, while the Celestial wizard was unable to do a thing with a broken leg, and even Natsu was out of action now as well. And Wendy was also just as terrified by what she was witnessing as well.

Meanwhile, Gray had suddenly snapped out of his initial shock when he saw the Balrog throw Erza and he couldn't take it anymore as he then charged forward and throwing himself in between Gandalf and the Balrog while going into a certain stance for a certain spell that surprised even Gandalf himself -and not to mention Carla as well, as Gray had not been a part of her vision here.

"Gray...," the old wizard began to reprimand.

"Don't worry, gramps, if this demon is what's holding you back from leavin' this place with us...then I'll gladly seal it away for you!" Gray declared, though he was still slightly trembling a bit as he crossed his arms out in front of him and surprising his friends -well, those who were still conscious anyway- as he was about to perform an Iced Shell simply by acting out of fear.

"No way, what can Gray possibly be thinking...?" Lucy whispered fearfully.

"He isn't thinking...," Natsu weakly managed to say as he shakily pulled himself back to his feet again after devouring the Balrog's flames, much to everyone's surprise and relief that he was still able to stand after that in the first place. "It ain't worth the risk to use Iced Shell, Gray, so don't do it!" he shouted over to the panicked ice wizard, and nearly stumbled as he charged forward to try to stop him from doing it, as the Fellowship began to wonder what this 'Iced Shell' even was to begin with -and even Frodo had begun to worry for the ice wizard as well.

But Gray somehow didn't even hear them as he just continued with the advanced ice spell. _Natsu, Erza...everyone, and all my friends in Fairy Tail, I'm sorry but it ends here for me,_ he thought to himself. "ICED SH-" WHACK!

Gandalf suddenly whacked him on the head with his staff before he could even finish, as he somehow had a clear idea of what that spell was capable of and what it does to the caster just by observing him. "Don't be in such a hurry to give up your life for an old man, Gray Fullbuster!" He then proceeded to whack Gray repeatedly back to his senses before roughly throwing him back straight into Natsu who was still charging forward again as the impact sent them both tumbling back towards the Fellowship. Now that there were finally no more interruptions, Gandalf turned back to continue confronting the Balrog as the demon had suddenly stepped forward onto the bridge towards the old wizard and was now wielding a whip made of flame with many thongs. Gandalf raised his sword and staff together in the air and shouted his defiance: "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" he slammed them both down onto the bridge of Khazad-Dum...and the stone crumbled beneath the Balrog's hooves.

The Fellowship and Team Natsu all looked relieved that it was finally over as the watched as Durin's Bane roared as it fell into the pit. Gandalf seemed more weary than ever as he watched the beast fall, and turned back to join the others. But that relief soon turned to horror when the Balrog's whip suddenly came up and latched itself around the old wizard's ankle and yanked him down into the pit where he grasped vainly at the crumbling stone as Frodo screamed and attempted to break free of Aragorn. "GANDAAALF!"

Gandalf met their eyes and spoke: "Fly, you fools...," and was pulled down into the darkness.

Natsu and Gray were both seen running over to help try to pull him back up, but were too late in reaching him as he had already been pulled down along with the Balrog, leaving them staring down into the abyss in complete and utter shock as they soon noticed Carla suddenly take off flying down to try to bring the old wizard back up much to everyone's surprise considering how reckless it was. "Carla, wait!" Wendy cried out fearfully after her, but the white Exceed was determined to save Gandalf as she was only acting out of fear because of her vision since she felt she had to at least do something in order to keep everyone together including Gandalf. Lucy and Happy too were also in complete and utter shock as well...and even Erza, who was just starting to come to from her fight with the Balrog at the same time, had witnessed Gandalf's fall into the abyss and became completely shocked by it as well.

Natsu angrily punched the ground with his flaming fist. "No way...were we supposed to all make it outta here together!" he shouted down into the abyss.

Gray, meanwhile, wasn't doing any better. "Gramps..." He punched the ground as he suddenly could no longer hold back tears that had begun to build up, as he was also frustrated with himself for attempting an Iced Shell without even thinking. That was when Carla flew back up, her attempt at trying to save Gandalf having failed as he was falling too fast for her to be able to catch up with him. "I'm sorry...I was unable to...they were falling too fast for me to completely catch up to him," the white Exceed sobbed uncontrollably.

"We have to go! They're coming!" Aragorn called to Natsu and Gray, and Carla as well, as orcs began to flood the large chamber and shoot arrows at them. Boromir pulled Merry and Pippin outside, after first having gone over to help Erza as well. Legolas was still supporting Lucy due to her leg, and was about head outside with her, when... "Wait!" she cried out.

"You heard what Aragorn said, we cannot stay here any longer," Legolas told her.

"I know...but, there's something I wanna retrieve first," Lucy said as she pointed to a spot on the ground where she noticed Gandalf's hat was now lying just a couple inches away from behind Natsu and Gray.

Legolas allowed his gaze to follow where she was pointing and nodded before leaving her in Aragorn's care as he went over to retrieve the hat for her, knowing that Gandalf probably wouldn't want it being left in a place like this. "Let's go, you two," he also told Natsu and Gray, breaking them out of their shock. The boys had eventually snapped out of it, and Natsu had suddenly taken notice of the orcs surrounding them on all sides and his body was soon engulfed in flames but was stopped from charging forward by Legolas holding him back by his scarf.

"Arrrhhh! Lemme at 'em! I'm still fired up enough to avenge gramps!" Natsu snarled angrily as he practically had to be dragged out of the mines by Legolas as the elf could be heard muttering something about how the pink haired boy was about as stubborn as a dwarf, while Gray and Carla just followed right behind them.

Once they were finally out of the mines, they all sat around the cliffside in disbelief and grieving over the loss of one of their companions. The hobbits were crying and wiping their eyes, Gandalf was a known friend to the halflings of the Shire. It was hard to believe he would never pop back in with his fireworks and tales of the world outside the borders of that village.

"Let me go back in there! I'll kill all of them! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!" Gimli shouted in a rage as Boromir had to hold him back.

Legolas had gone over and set Gandalf's hat down in Lucy's lap -which she gratefully thanked him for- just as Wendy began healing her leg and finding that it actually was just dislocated, which the Sky Maiden just did her best to heal back into place the best she could before moving onto anyone else who was in need of a healing session. Erza, and most of all Natsu after devouring the flames of the Balrog which he was still feeling extremely sick from and would end up taking longer to fully heal from, were especially in need of her healing magic.

"You should also focus on healing your own wounds as well," Boromir had gently informed her.

But Wendy only shook her head at that. "It doesn't work that way," she replied quietly. "That's the limit to my healing magic...I can heal others, just not myself."

Meanwhile, Erza was seen trying to comfort Natsu and Gray, as the trio were also seen grieving over the loss of Gandalf as well. Natsu and Gray especially, as both boys had come to view Gandalf as sort of grandfather figure to them since first arriving in Middle Earth and in the short time they've come to know him -and he, them. Despite Natsu's troublesome behavior and Gray's smart-mouth attitude at times, there was no doubt they really did look up to the old wizard like a relationship between grandfather and grandson -well more like two troublesome grandsons always giving the old wizard a hard time anyway, especially Natsu. Lucy, Wendy, Happy, and Carla also were grieving and comforting one another as well, as Lucy could also be seen holding Gandalf's hat close to her. And Carla also came to realize that if she had better control over her visions, then perhaps she would have been able to prevent such a tragedy from happening to begin with despite Wendy telling her that nobody here blamed her because of her visions.

However, their grieving was soon cut short by Aragorn who suddenly ordered Legolas and Boromir to get everyone up, much to Boromir's protests to give them a moment to grieve.

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs," Aragorn said in reply to Boromir. "We make for the woods of Lothlorien."

Boromir and Gimli were now seen helping the hobbits to their feet, while Legolas took to helping Lucy to stand since her leg still ached despite Wendy healing it as best she could, and Natsu was being supported by Erza since he was still weak due to eating the Balrog's flames.

"That's it," Natsu suddenly declared. "I've made up my mind to become stronger, so no one else in our group will ever have to die like that again!" And it was clear by the determined look in his eyes that he was indeed serious about it, despite Lucy telling him that he doesn't always have to be the one playing the hero like this who has to save everybody.

But Natsu wasn't the only one thinking like that. "That ain't good enough, since there might be other demons out there just like that," Gray stated somewhat darkly. "And I'm gonna become strong enough to destroy every last one of 'em in order to fully avenge him."

And although the Fellowship thought his determination was admirable, they somehow didn't think that vengeance by destroying every demon they came across was the best way to go about it, and also because that kind of thinking could easily lead a person into dark temptations. Once the group was all one their feet, Aragorn had suddenly called out to Frodo who had begun walking away from the group as Wendy and Carla had also gone over to try to comfort him. Frodo was silently sobbing, and staring out at the horizon as Wendy and Carla approached him. "It was my fault...I chose to go into the mines and Gandalf knew what was there and he...he went anyway..." Frodo sobbed.

"Now stop that, you're beginning to sound like Wendy whenever she blames herself over something!" Carla harshly reprimanded him, before sighing and adding a bit more calmly; "If anyone's to blame, it should be me for not having very good control over my visions from the start. If I had then I would have been able to help prevent that whole thing from happening, and then even Natsu and Erza wouldn't be in the condition they're in now...and not to mention Lucy..."

"Stop it, Carla!" Wendy could be heard shouting. "You're always telling me I shouldn't beat myself up over things beyond my control, so what makes that any different with you?! Natsu and Erza helped out because they wanted to, despite your visions, even if they did end up badly injured afterwards... None of us are to blame for what happened to him, not even Natsu or Erza...and not even you or Frodo are to blame..." She soon found herself unable to control the stream of tears that began flooding her face as she tried to reassure the Ringbearer that nobody here was going to start blaming him for choosing to enter the mines when most of the others would have frozen to death on the Caradhras had he not made the choice, even if that choice wasn't able to protect everyone along the way.

"Wendy," Carla whispered in amazement at her suddenly boldness of speaking up like that, as she suddenly felt bad for blaming herself for lack of control over her visions back in the mines. "You're right, child, I really shouldn't blame myself because of my visions."

Frodo nodded tearfully as he placed a hand on the little girl's shoulder. "Thank you, Wendy. And you too, Carla," he told her, and he knew the white Exceed meant well too despite her harsh tone. The trio was then joined by Aragorn who had gone over to tell them that they needed to move on from this place as soon as possible.

The Fellowship and Team Natsu were now following behind Aragorn, finally leaving the mines behind and began making their way towards the safety of Lothlorien.

* * *

**Aye, Gandalf's death affects them all in many ways, I know I'm always almost near tears when I watch that scene. :'( And Team Natsu may end up with PSTD by the time this whole quest is finished and they finally return home. Anywho, next chapter is when they enter Lothlorien. And another Fairy Tail wizard may end up joining up with them as well...sorry, no spoilers though. ;p Have to find out next chapter. Until next chapter, Mew Sakura out. ;)**


End file.
